Google Blocking Links to News Outlets on Search; Taylor Swift Returns to TikTok; Legal Loophole Could Bring Political Ads to UK TV Screens

by Aimee Newell Tarín on 16th Apr 2024 in News

On today’s news digest: Google Blocking Links to News Outlets on Search; Taylor Swift Returns to TikTok; Legal Loophole Could Bring Political Ads to UK TV Screens

In protest of a proposed law which would require tech companies in California to pay a journalism usage fee for linking to news sites, Google has temporarily blocked links from local news outlets in the region from appearing in search results. The California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA) cleared the California assembly in 2023; to become law it would now need to pass in the Senate. In a blog post, Google explains the “short-term” testing they are carrying out on a “small percentage” of users in the state to prepare for possible implications of the act: “The testing process involves removing links to California news websites, potentially covered by CJPA, to measure the impact of the legislation on our product experience.”

Taylor Swift has made a return to TikTok, following a royalties dispute with Universal Music which saw the video giant pull the music group’s catalogue from its platform. Taylor Swift reinstated a selection of her songs on TikTok ahead of a planned album release on 19th April – the singer owns the copyrights to her own songs due to a deal struck with Universal in 2018, so is in control of where her music is made available (unlike many artists).

Meanwhile in the UK, political ads could soon be coming to TV screens. For the first time, ITV is considering taking paid ads from political parties ahead of the upcoming general election. Last year, the spending limit on political parties’ general election campaigns was updated, rising from £19.5m to £35m. With this figure almost doubling, a loophole in broadcasting law presents new opportunities: since 1955, British political parties have been banned from buying TV ads – however, the ban applies only to traditional linear TV. As a result of these circumstances, ITV is considering allowing political parties to buy ad space on its ITVX streaming platform.