Google Ends First Click Free Policy for Publishers

[engine]

Google has ended its first-click-free policy saying that it's up to publishers that have a paywall to manage their own operations, however, it'll replace it with what it calls "flexible sampling". Also, it'll not demote in the SERPs pages that are behind a paywall.
[blog.google...]
First click free was a Google requirement where publishers had to show a minimum of three free articles per day in the SERPs and Google News before people were shown a paywall.

Here's Google's guidelines for publishers on flexible sampling. [support.google.com...]

Clearly, Google has now done something to help publishers sell subscriptions.

[keyplyr]

Adding to more competition between digital publishers is good.

[martinibuster]

Poor user experience. Bad for Google's users.

[tangor]

Off-loading who is responsible for counting the freebies before showing the paywall.

Makes sense.

Users really like to know who holds all that "free data" hostage and g ain't it. (among the many aspects of "try it before you buy it")