A key executive at Google's news division has reportedly resigned, and the departure comes at a time of heightened tensions with publishers, who have accused the search giant of siphoning off vital advertising revenue. be.
Shailesh Prakash was the Vice President and General Manager of Google News. A source confirmed that he is no longer with the company.
First reported by the Wall Street Journal A person familiar with the matter spoke about his resignation.
The circumstances behind Prakash's resignation were not immediately clear. Google declined to comment.
Prakash's career has given him unique insight into the news industry's dissatisfaction with Google. He joined Google in November 2022 after 11 years at the Washington Post, where he served as chief product and technology officer, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He guided the newspaper's transition to digital content, including launching an in-house advertising technology business, the newspaper reported.
Prakash reportedly worked closely with billionaire Jeff Bezos after the Amazon founder bought the Washington Post for $500 million in 2013. The outgoing Google executive previously held positions at Sears and Microsoft.
Google has come under intense scrutiny in recent months over its business practices and allegations that it is harming news publishers who rely on the search giant for site traffic to support ad sales.
The big tech company criticized online publishers last May after it introduced a feature called “AI Overview,” which displays automatically generated summaries at the top of search results while filling in links to other sites.
The nonprofit News Media Alliance, which represents more than 2,200 publishers including the Post, said the feature would have a “devastating impact on traffic” and called on federal authorities to intervene.
Critics claim that Google “trained” its artificial intelligence tools using publishers' copyrighted content without proper credit or attribution. Google has also been accused of sidestepping legislative efforts aimed at forcing tech companies to pay their fair share.
Last month, the Post reported how Google used its access to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to try to undermine foreign regulations, including Canada's Online News Act, which requires Google to pay for the right to display news content. We exclusively reported on the email that revealed the… .
The Department of Justice has filed a major antitrust lawsuit targeting Google's digital advertising business. Federal authorities allege that Google exploited the squeeze on digital market technology to siphon revenue from publishers and advertisers alike.
In September, a former executive at the Post's parent company, News Corp., said the publishing giant considered switching away from Google's advertising products in 2017, but calculated that it would cost the company at least $9 million in lost revenue. He testified that he hesitated.
Closing arguments in the Justice Department's digital advertising lawsuit against Google are scheduled for November 25, with a final ruling expected early next year.
Separately, a federal judge ruled in August that Google had an illegal monopoly on online search. Judge Amit Mehta is expected to rule on possible relief by next summer.
While outlining potential solutions to break up Google's monopoly, the Justice Department said the rise of AI is “a new barrier to competition that, unless we take steps to address it, could further increase Google's dominance.” There is a danger that it will become stronger.”
