Google Drops 'First Click Free' Policy

Google is ending its so-called "first click free," a policy loathed by many publishers and media because it required them to provide a limited amount of free content before readers could be subjected to a paywall.

Publishers now will be allowed to decide how many, if any, free articles they want to offer readers before charging a fee, Richard Gingras, vice president of news at Google Inc., wrote Monday in a company blog post.

Publishers had been required to provide at least three free items under the previous policy created by the search engine.

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