Google’s stranglehold on Discover, Gemini, and YouTube threatens the survival of independent UK publishers

Google’s stranglehold on Discover, Gemini, and YouTube threatens the survival of independent UK publishers. Here’s how.

1. Google Discover – The Invisible Gatekeeper

Google Discover has quietly become the frontpage of countless smartphones, tablets and browsers. It pushes personalised news feeds to users without them ever typing a query, turning Google from a search engine into a powerful curator of what the public reads.

For independent publishers this is a nightmare. The algorithm that decides which headline appears in a reader’s feed is a black box – there is no transparency, no advance notice of changes and no compensation for the massive amount of content it harvests. Small‑scale titles, specialist‑interest sites and hyperlocal newsrooms find themselves invisible, while click‑bait pieces that game the system rise to the top.

The result? A shrinking marketplace for quality journalism, a loss of traffic that could sustain local newsrooms, and a public that receives a filtered view of the world shaped by a single corporate agenda.

2. Gemini AI Assistant – search rebranded, power unchecked

Google’s Gemini AI Assistant is marketed as a smarter way to get answers, but in practice it does exactly what Google Search already does – it pulls information from the web, generates a concise response and, crucially, bypasses the original source.

Because Gemini delivers answers directly on the screen, readers no longer click through to the publisher’s site. Revenue from ads, subscriptions and brand exposure evaporates. Gemini is being rolled out as the default search experience on many Android devices, meaning the same content‑extraction model is now the norm rather than the exception.

Gemini creates a loophole for Google as it shifts core search functions into an “assistant” that evades regulation. For independent media, this translates into yet another avenue for traffic theft and a further erosion of bargaining power.

3. YouTube – The second‑largest search engine, also controlled by Google

YouTube isn’t just a video‑sharing platform. It’s the world’s second‑largest search engine, handling more queries daily than Bing, Yahoo! and Ask combined. Its integration with Google Search means that video results are automatically favoured over content hosted elsewhere.

Independent publishers who produce video news, documentaries or podcasts are forced into the YouTube ecosystem if they want any chance of discovery. The platform’s opaque recommendation algorithm rewards channels that align with Google’s commercial interests, penalising those that publish niche or critical journalism.

YouTube is Google. We are tackling YouTube as part of Google’s search dominance to protect the diversity of UK independent media.

Join the fight

Our collective bargaining negotiations with Google are the first step, but it will only succeed if we, independent publishers, stand together.

Become a member of the Independent Media Association and add your voice to our collective bargaining negotiations with Google. Let’s demand a fairer deal for our sector.

The future of a pluralistic, vibrant UK press depends on us acting now.