Working Paper: NBER ID: w21404
Authors: Lesley Chiou; Catherine Tucker
Abstract: The digitization of content has led to the emergence of platforms that draw information from multiple sources. Policymakers are concerned that these new platforms threaten incentives for the production of original content. As a result, policymakers are contemplating regulations that would force aggregation platforms to pay or require an explicit "opt-in" for content providers. To understand the possible consequences and underlying rationale of such laws, we explore whether aggregation of content by a single platform encourages users to "skim" content or to investigate in depth. We study a contract dispute that led a major aggregator to remove information from a major content provider. We find that after the removal, users were less likely to investigate additional, related content in depth, particularly sources that were horizontally or vertically differentiated.
Keywords: content aggregation; news media; platforms; consumer behavior
JEL Codes: L63; L82; L86; L88
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Removal of AP content from Google News (Y60) | Decrease in likelihood of users navigating to news websites (C91) |
| Reinstatement of AP content (Y20) | Increase in traffic to news sites (A14) |