<div align="justify">Google announced new steps to help struggling news organizations Monday -- including an end to a longstanding "first click free" policy to generate fresh revenues for publishers hurt by the shift from print to digital.<br /><br />The moves come amid mounting criticism that online platforms are siphoning off the majority of revenues as more readers turn to digital platforms for news.<br /><br />"I truly believe that Google and news publishers actually share a common cause," said Google Vice President Philipp Schindler.<br /><br />"Our users truly value high quality journalism."<br /><br />Google announced a series of measures, the most significant of which would be to replace the decade-old policy of requiring news organizations to provide one article discovered in a news search without subscribing -- a standard known as "first click free."<br /><br />This will be replaced by a "flexible sampling" model that will allow publishers to require a subscription if they choose at any time.<br /><br />"We realize that one size does not fit all," said Richard Gingras, Google's vice president for news.<br /><br />This will allow news organizations to decide whether to show articles at no cost or to implement a "paywall" for some or all content.<br /><br />Gingras said the new policy, effective Monday, will be in place worldwide. He said it was not clear how many publishers would start implementing an immediate paywall as a result.<br /><br />"The reaction to our efforts has been positive," he told a conference call announcing the new policy.<br /><br />"This is not a silver bullet to the subscription market. It is a very competitive market for information. And people buy subscriptions when they have a perception of value."<br /><br />Google said it is recommending a "metering" system allowing 10 free articles per month as the best way to encourage subscriptions.<br /><br />The California tech giant also said it would work with publishers to make subscriptions easier, including allowing readers to pay with their Google or Android account to avoid a cumbersome registration process.<br /><br />"We think we can get it down to one click, that would be superb," Gingras said.<br /><br />He explained people are becoming more accustomed to paying for news, but that a "sometimes painful process of signing up for a subscription can be a turn off. That's not great for users or for news publishers who see subscriptions as an increasingly important source of revenue."<br /><br />Google would share data with the news organizations to enable them to keep up the customer relationship, he added.<br /><br />"We're not looking to own the customer," he said. "We will provide the name of user, the email and if necessary the address."<br /><br />Gingras said Google is also exploring ways "to use machine learning to help publishers recognize potential subscribers," employing the internet giant's technology to help news organizations.<br /><br />He added that Google was not implementing the changes to generate revenues for itself, but that some financial details had not been worked out.<br /><br />Google does not intend to take a slice of subscription revenues, he noted.<br /><br />"Our intent is to be as generous as possible," he said.<br /><br />Research firm eMarketer estimates that Google and Facebook will take in 63 percent of digital advertising revenues in 2017 -- making it harder for news organizations to compete online.<br /><br />Facebook is widely believed to be working on a similar effort to help news organizations drive more subscriptions.<br /><br />Google created a "Digital News Initiative" in Europe in 2015 which provides funding for innovative journalism projects.</div>
<div align="justify">Google announced new steps to help struggling news organizations Monday -- including an end to a longstanding "first click free" policy to generate fresh revenues for publishers hurt by the shift from print to digital.<br /><br />The moves come amid mounting criticism that online platforms are siphoning off the majority of revenues as more readers turn to digital platforms for news.<br /><br />"I truly believe that Google and news publishers actually share a common cause," said Google Vice President Philipp Schindler.<br /><br />"Our users truly value high quality journalism."<br /><br />Google announced a series of measures, the most significant of which would be to replace the decade-old policy of requiring news organizations to provide one article discovered in a news search without subscribing -- a standard known as "first click free."<br /><br />This will be replaced by a "flexible sampling" model that will allow publishers to require a subscription if they choose at any time.<br /><br />"We realize that one size does not fit all," said Richard Gingras, Google's vice president for news.<br /><br />This will allow news organizations to decide whether to show articles at no cost or to implement a "paywall" for some or all content.<br /><br />Gingras said the new policy, effective Monday, will be in place worldwide. He said it was not clear how many publishers would start implementing an immediate paywall as a result.<br /><br />"The reaction to our efforts has been positive," he told a conference call announcing the new policy.<br /><br />"This is not a silver bullet to the subscription market. It is a very competitive market for information. And people buy subscriptions when they have a perception of value."<br /><br />Google said it is recommending a "metering" system allowing 10 free articles per month as the best way to encourage subscriptions.<br /><br />The California tech giant also said it would work with publishers to make subscriptions easier, including allowing readers to pay with their Google or Android account to avoid a cumbersome registration process.<br /><br />"We think we can get it down to one click, that would be superb," Gingras said.<br /><br />He explained people are becoming more accustomed to paying for news, but that a "sometimes painful process of signing up for a subscription can be a turn off. That's not great for users or for news publishers who see subscriptions as an increasingly important source of revenue."<br /><br />Google would share data with the news organizations to enable them to keep up the customer relationship, he added.<br /><br />"We're not looking to own the customer," he said. "We will provide the name of user, the email and if necessary the address."<br /><br />Gingras said Google is also exploring ways "to use machine learning to help publishers recognize potential subscribers," employing the internet giant's technology to help news organizations.<br /><br />He added that Google was not implementing the changes to generate revenues for itself, but that some financial details had not been worked out.<br /><br />Google does not intend to take a slice of subscription revenues, he noted.<br /><br />"Our intent is to be as generous as possible," he said.<br /><br />Research firm eMarketer estimates that Google and Facebook will take in 63 percent of digital advertising revenues in 2017 -- making it harder for news organizations to compete online.<br /><br />Facebook is widely believed to be working on a similar effort to help news organizations drive more subscriptions.<br /><br />Google created a "Digital News Initiative" in Europe in 2015 which provides funding for innovative journalism projects.</div>