Google has told the European Union (EU) it will not comply with its new fact-checking law, according to a new report saying the massive search engine will not incorporate the measures into its search function nor YouTube video results.
Axios pointed out that this is not a practice that Google has ever engaged in and reported that the company had previously signaled to the international body that it would unlikely be integrating its new fact-checking practices.
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach Google to confirm what steps it takes to ensure the most legitimate posts are found through its search engine, given previous concerns over the effects of disinformation campaigns.
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Google’s Global Affairs President, Kent Walker, apparently informed the deputy director general for the communications networks, content and technology body to the European Commission, Renate Nikolay, that the Disinformation Code of Practice “simply isn’t appropriate or effective for our services.”
Walker reportedly argued Google’s current approach to content moderation is already effective and does not need an additional fact-check component, which under the new EU guidelines would apparently display fact-check results alongside the search results.
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Republicans on the Hill championed this as a win for freedom of speech, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who said in a Thursday post on X that it was a “step in the right direction. Kudos to Google for pushing back against the EU’s attempt to make censorship the new norm.”
It is unclear if Google also viewed this fact-checking push as a form of “censorship” or if its opposition to the regulation was that it was unnecessary given other methods the company uses to moderate its search results.
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But the news comes at a time when large tech companies are increasingly accused of cozying up to President Donald Trump as he returns to the White House
Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai attended Trump’s second inauguration alongside other tech leaders like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, and TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
Fox Business could not immediately reach the European Commission for comment.