The News/Media Alliance is calling on the DOJ, FTC, and California Attorney General to investigate Google after the search giant removed links to news sources in California.

Google started experimenting with removing links to news in California in response to the upcoming California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), which would see news outlets receive compensation for Google and other tech companies linking to them. Google has embarked on similar courses of action in other countries when similar legislation has passed.

The News/Media Alliance (the Alliance) is calling for an investigation, saying Google is “retaliating against proposed legislation” and may be in violation of several laws.

Importantly, Google released no further details on how many Californians will be affected, how the Californians who will be denied news access were chosen, what publications will be affected, how long the compelled news blackouts will persist, and whether access will be blocked entirely or just to content Google particularly disfavors. Because of these unknowns, there are many ways Google’s unilateral decision to turn off access to news websites for Californians could violate [various] laws.

News/Media Alliance President & CEO Danielle Coffey stated, “Google professes to provide unfettered access to the world’s information. With its recent removal of news in California, the dominant search platform has proven that it has too much power. No one company should be permitted to control information so singularly that it can make decisions to the detriment of society, as Google has done in California. We call on government agencies to take action to address the various ways this activity could violate existing antitrust and other relevant laws.”

Google and other Big Tech firms have faced increased scrutiny for disproportionately benefiting from the news articles they link to, with jurisdictions around the world looking to force Big Tech to pay its fair share.