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Microsoft Paying Sites to De-list From Google?

By - Source: Tom's Hardware US | B 98 comments

Microsoft has reportedly asked News Corp to make good on its threat to de-list itself from Google and is offering the company an incentive to do so.

A couple of weeks back News Corp's Rupert Murdoch said he was considering blocking Google from indexing his news sites as part of the company's plans to push a pay-for-content business model. Now a report in the Financial Times claims that Microsoft is willing to pay Murdoch to do just that.

The FT yesterday reported that Microsoft had entered discussions that would involve the News Corp being paid to “de-index” its news websites from Google. Microsoft is also said to have approached other publishers.

Neither Microsoft nor News Corp have commented on the report, which was published yesterday. But, if there's any grain of truth to the rumors and a deal like this comes to fruition, it will be a big advantage over Google for Bing and Microsoft.

If news publishers de-listed their content from Google but that same content was available on Bing, would you switch search engines? Let us know in the comments below!

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Top Comments
  • 31 Hide
    ltgrunt , November 23, 2009 1:00 PM
    Not having to deal with News Corp.'s tastelessly one-sided smears and propaganda is a significantly good reason to never ever leave Google.
  • 20 Hide
    Anonymous , November 23, 2009 12:58 PM
    Microsoft and Intel have got to be a couple of the most corrupt companies out there.

    Whatever happened to anti-competitive laws?
  • 17 Hide
    Anonymous , November 23, 2009 1:25 PM
    Sounds like a perfectly good reason to stay with Google. This kind of behavior is exactly why I wouldn't mind if they increased the fines that M$ had to pay tenfold.
Other Comments
    Display all 98 comments.
  • 20 Hide
    Anonymous , November 23, 2009 12:58 PM
    Microsoft and Intel have got to be a couple of the most corrupt companies out there.

    Whatever happened to anti-competitive laws?
  • -8 Hide
    maydaynomore , November 23, 2009 1:00 PM
    Already switched. Loving Bing. Used Google for about 10yrs. (still using Gmail) Google is great, but, for me, Bing is more user friendly.
  • 17 Hide
    lvlouro , November 23, 2009 1:00 PM
    Question nº1 how can this be legal in any way???
  • 31 Hide
    ltgrunt , November 23, 2009 1:00 PM
    Not having to deal with News Corp.'s tastelessly one-sided smears and propaganda is a significantly good reason to never ever leave Google.
  • 12 Hide
    Anonymous , November 23, 2009 1:03 PM
    Why can't Microsoft play fair and square?
  • 2 Hide
    sstym , November 23, 2009 1:06 PM
    If news publisher content was available for free on another search engine, I might have to switch to that engine because the internet is my primary news source. I wouldn't be too happy about it (not because I like Google, I just don't like the principle of paying for news), and if other reliable news sources were still available on my primary search engine, I might switch to another news source instead.

    On the other hand, we're talking about News Corp here, not real news. Still, it's probably the harbinger of a new trend.
  • 11 Hide
    danhitchcock , November 23, 2009 1:07 PM
    I like how the richest software giant is terrified and trying to compete with a company which provides only free software.
  • 9 Hide
    Anonymous , November 23, 2009 1:14 PM
    Doesn't this fall under the same business practices that Intel was employing against AMD? It seems pretty similar if it doesn't fall in that category.
  • -4 Hide
    hixbot , November 23, 2009 1:14 PM
    Give it up MS, Bing is a failure.
  • 6 Hide
    ADM-86 , November 23, 2009 1:17 PM
    No,because in seconds there would be a free site in Google with the same news and info or a pirate site with the original ones.

    Btw Rupert Murdoch is an idiot that is gonna get a hard lesson on how everything works right now,because if he thinks he can force the Internet users to pay for information that we can get free in other places....well that just stupid from a business point of view.(he's too old and too stubborn to be making this kind of decisions)
  • 6 Hide
    zak_mckraken , November 23, 2009 1:19 PM
    I don't see anything wrong or illegal with this practice, but I won't switch from Google to Bing just for that. If I know a source of content I'm looking fro exists, I'll find it anyway!
  • -1 Hide
    Anonymous , November 23, 2009 1:23 PM
    No never...bing sucks big time and will never replace even my phonebook..get a life and a real name..
  • 17 Hide
    Anonymous , November 23, 2009 1:25 PM
    Sounds like a perfectly good reason to stay with Google. This kind of behavior is exactly why I wouldn't mind if they increased the fines that M$ had to pay tenfold.
  • 4 Hide
    Herbert_HA , November 23, 2009 1:27 PM
    I won't give this company my money ever, ever, EVER again, for they only use it not to create something truly new and innovative, but to drive the real innovators out of business.
  • 0 Hide
    jcknouse , November 23, 2009 1:29 PM
    why would i go with a bloated search like bing? have to get a .net passport/live account?

    Google does me well. i don't have to install/sign-up for anything.

    MS is scared, therefore they offer bribes.
  • 10 Hide
    toastninja17 , November 23, 2009 1:32 PM
    This is retarded, seriously. Taking content OFF Google to get people to swtich to Being, what the fuck, seriously. Yeah, ok, marketing decision, but still. Although I have not heard of this News Corps., I will still continue using Google, as I have been for as long as I've been using search engines, or computers for that matter.

    Long story short, I'm not switching, no way in hell. Besides, I have my site advisor on Google, and Firefox has its own adivsor for Google as well. Is that on Bing? Not as far as I know.
  • -3 Hide
    toastninja17 , November 23, 2009 1:33 PM
    danhitchcockI like how the richest software giant is terrified and trying to compete with a company which provides only free software.


    WINWINWINWINWINWIN
  • -4 Hide
    sunflier , November 23, 2009 1:47 PM
    asdfasdflkdsjflkdsjGoogle, Microsoft, and Intel have got to be a few of the most corrupt companies out there...


    Fixed.
  • -2 Hide
    sunflier , November 23, 2009 1:54 PM
    danhitchcockI like how the richest software giant is terrified and trying to compete with a company which provides only free software.


    The ill informed think just because somethings "free" it must be great. People are so naive.

    Every single time you use your "free" Chrome they learn something about you.
  • 6 Hide
    chuckdalton , November 23, 2009 1:55 PM
    does anyone care?
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