Free content's getting locked down. Google (GOOG), which has been criticized by the newspaper industry for sending them traffic making it easy for readers to find the stories they want without forcing them to make a purchase, is starting to play ball with the print industry.
What's the harm? The way things are going, Google will only have to be nice for a little while. Then, this latest defensive measure by the newspaper industry will have run its course, and Google will be free to do what it wants.
The search engine giant has updated its "First Click Free" program to allow publishers to limit how much content online readers can view. Josh Cohen, Google's senior business product manager, writes on the Google News blog, "If you're a Google user, this means that you may start to see a registration page after you've clicked through to more than five articles." The newspaper still gets its articles indexed, but it doesn't have to give away all its content.
The timing, of course, isn't exactly surprising. Rupert Murdoch threatened to yank News Corp's (NWS) Wall Street Journal content from Google, because readers could use the search engine to slip past the pay wall.
This compromise could make it easier for newspapers to decide to charge for online content, as they won't have to sacrifice (as much) visibility in doing so.
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