GENOA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2020) The US tech giant Google, which will pay select publishers for their news articles as part of a new licensing program to encourage "high-quality content," is working to make the list of publishers more representative, the company's press officer said in a comment obtained by Sputnik on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Google said that a vibrant and credible news industry mattered more than ever "in the midst of a global pandemic and growing concerns about racial injustice around the world." The tech giant said it cared much about access to information and support for publishers who "report on these important topics." Partnerships have been already struck with national and local media outlets in Germany, Australia and Brazil, including Spiegel, Solstice Media and Diarios Associados.
"The list isn't intended to be exhaustive but representative. We are holding conversations with more publishers in around another half a dozen countries," the press officer said when asked whether other countries were being considered.
The spokesperson added that the list of countries would be expanded in the near future.
Google also said in a press release that it was planning to pay for free access to paywalled articles on a publisher's website so that a wider audience could reach them.
