Google News To Shut Down in Spain in Response to 'Google Tax' Law

Google says it will close Google News in Spain because of a law requiring aggregators to pay news publishers for linking content. The company said it will block reports from Spanish publishers from its more than 70 Google News international editions. The shutdown will happen on December 16th - two weeks before a new Spanish intellectual property law takes effect. That means people in Latin America, where Spanish news organizations are trying to boost audiences, will not see that news via Google News in Mexico or anywhere else. Spain's news publishers association lobbied for the law nicknamed the 'Google Tax.' It's the first Google News shutdown.