Image: © Aleksei/Stock.adobe.com
The move comes as Google News celebrates its global 20th anniversary and unveils a desktop redesign.
After an eight-year hiatus, Google News is now available in Spain again.
The online news aggregator was shut down in Spain in 2014 when the country’s government said that all online aggregators must pay original publishers for any news content cited or linked to.
Last year, Spain introduced new rules allowing media outlets to negotiate directly with Google, bringing the country more in line with copyright regulations in the rest of the EU.
In a blogpost published today (22 June), Google’s VP of Iberia, Fuencisla Clemares, pointed out that return of Google News to Spain coincides with the global 20th anniversary of the news aggregator.
“This is thanks to an updated copyright law allowing Spanish media outlets – big and small – to make their own decisions about how their content can be discovered and how they want to monetise that content,” she added.
Google News, which is available in more than 125 countries and 40 languages, uses machine learning to analyse and aggregate stories being published around the world.
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, it is unveiling a redesign for desktop. The redesign means local news stories will move to the top of the page, making them easier to find.
Comparison between Google News homepage in 2002 and 2022. Image: Google
Users can keep track of news in different places they are interested in using a filter button. They can also add and customise topics of interest, based on what they want to read about.
Google News is also adding features that aim to improve people’s media literacy. It has expanded its fact-check section on desktop to provide more context for stories.
Finally, it is partnering with journalists and journalism initiatives to aid reporters in the digital age. Its Google News Initiative is opening applications for a multimillion-dollar fund aimed at supporting publications for minority audiences.
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
