Alphabet Inc's Google said on Friday it will waive for the next five months the small fee it charges news publishers to decide which ads to show on their online properties.
News publishers, especially the print media, have struggled as many advertisers pulled their marketing budgets to rein in costs because of economic uncertainty related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jason Kint, chief executive of media industry trade association Digital Content Next, said that any move to help the news publishing industry is appreciated. "But we would be foolish to believe this changes any other well-founded concerns around Google's dominance over the digital ad business," Kint said.