Google to shut Spanish news service

               

 Following the new Spanish law that allows Spanish publications to charge services like Google News if their content is shown on the site.

 

Online search giant Google is shutting down its Google News service in Spain before a new intellectual property law is introduced.

 

Google will shut the service on 16 December before the law comes into effect in January, the firm said.  But Google has argued against the ruling, saying that it makes no money from its search-based service.

"It's with real sadness that on 16 December we'll remove Spanish publishers from Google News, and close Google News in Spain," said Richard Gingras, head of Google News in a blog post on Wednesday.

He went on to add that the law which would allow Spanish publishers to charge Google "for showing even the smallest snippet from their publications" was not sustainable.

"Google News itself makes no money (we do not show any advertising on the site)," he said.