Welcome to a fun new feature for Future Media...
When I’m on the road meeting publishers around the world, as I have been for the past three weeks, it can hard to carve out a window to sit down to write.
But I’m constantly being asked questions, so to answer them, and to keep the newsletters flowing, I’m launching short video snippets, like this ☝️
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This one came I was getting my morning coffee from the best Australian barista in NYC, Bluestone Lane. My phone pinged with a question from a publishing VIP.
“I’m searching your Substacks but can’t find the answer - but I know I read it,” she wrote.
“What’s your take on if publishers will be able to opt out of AI Mode while remaining in Search?
“We can opt out of AI Overviews by not appearing in Featured Snippets, but will Google be forced to give publishers the control we need?
“Hope NY is treating you well. Great to see you in two cities in two weeks.”
Here’s the answer.
Yes, the DoJ is seeking within the remedies to stop Google insisting publishers must remove themselves from search to remove themselves from AI training.
This is a legal thing called tying. If a monopolist uses its scale to force customers to take two services to get one, that can be anticompetitive, and illegal.
So the DoJ has asked the judge to force Google to separate the two, giving publishers control over what their content is used for.
Sounds good, only, evidence on Friday in the trial threw some shade on that.
One of Google’s VP was forced to admit under cross-examination that opting out only worked on DeepMind, but not on search.
Basically, onle half of Google’s business would respect the take down request, but the most important part wouldn’t.
And once your data is in Google, who knows where it goes. I’m not even sure Google knows where it goes.
The issue was quickly noted down by the judge, so expect a sophisticated solution to empowers publishers when the remedies are handed down sometime around August.
And if you want to read more into this element of the case, you can find the full story here.
And if you have a question you want me to answer, drop me a line here, or on LinkedIn.
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