This came up a lot on Twitter yesterday. It really is pretty bad news for the media here in Spain!
Yesterday’s Announcement
“We regret to inform you that Google News has closed in Spain and that the publications of Spanish publishers no longer appear in Google News, following the recent changes in Spanish legislation. We understand that users like you may be unhappy with this new situation and therefore we want to explain the reasons why we have made this decision.
Google News is a free service, used and appreciated by millions of users around the world and is currently available in more than 70 international editions and in 35 languages. It ranges from national newspapers to small local publications, specialized media and blogs. Publishers can choose if they want their articles to appear in Google News or not and, for compelling reasons, the vast majority opts for inclusion. Google News creates a real value for these publications by directing user traffic to their websites, which in turn helps them generate advertising revenue.
After the approval of the reform of the Intellectual Property Law we had to close the Google News service in Spain. This new legislation obliges any Spanish publication to charge, whether or not, services like Google News for showing the slightest fragment of their publications. Given that Google News is a service that does not generate revenue (we do not show advertising on the website), this new approach is simply unsustainable.
From Google we will continue to maintain our commitment to help and work with the information sector, as well as with our thousands of partners around the world, including those in Spain, to help them increase their readership and revenue on the Internet.
It seems that you are trying to access the Spanish edition of Google News. If you were trying to access a different edition, you can find it here .
Due to changes in Spanish legislation, we are sorry to inform you that Google News has closed in Spain and Spanish publishers can not include their content in this product.
We understand the discontent of readers, so we want to explain the reasons that led us to make this decision.
What is Google News?
Google News is a news and magazine application for Android, iOS and the Web that allows users to discover more interesting content.
What can editors choose?
Publishers decide if their articles are published in Google News, and most have a good reason to do so. The content of Google News comes from feeds provided by the editors and the web crawl. Google News brings great value to these publications, as it directs users to their websites and allows them to generate advertising revenue.
What are the reasons why this decision is made?
In Spain, the legislation requires all publications to charge services such as Google News for displaying any fragment of its content, whether they want it or not.
This situation is unsustainable for Google News.”
