Google News Executive Shailesh Prakash Steps Down Amid Rising Tensions With Publishers

A key executive from Google’s news division has reportedly resigned amid escalating tensions with publishers, who accuse the tech giant of diverting critical advertising revenue.

Shailesh Prakash, a vice president and general manager for Google News, has left the company, according to sources. His departure was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.

The reasons behind Prakash’s exit remain unclear, and Google declined to comment. Prakash’s experience uniquely positioned him to understand the challenges publishers face with Google.

He joined Google in November 2022 following an 11-year tenure at The Washington Post, where he served as chief product and technology officer. During his time at the Post, Prakash led the paper’s digital transformation, including the creation of its in-house ad tech business. He reportedly worked closely with Jeff Bezos after the Amazon founder purchased the Post in 2013. Prakash’s earlier career also included roles at Sears and Microsoft.

Google 'AI overviews' controversy

Google has faced increasing scrutiny recently over its business practices and alleged negative impact on news publishers, who rely on Google for traffic that drives ad sales. Publishers’ frustrations intensified last May when Google introduced “AI Overviews,” a feature that auto-generates summaries at the top of search results while pushing links to original content further down.

The News Media Alliance, representing over 2,200 publishers, including The Washington Post, warned that the feature would “catastrophically impact” their web traffic and called for federal intervention. Critics claim Google used copyrighted publisher content to train its AI tools without proper attribution. Additionally, Google is accused of sidestepping regulations aimed at making tech firms fairly compensate content creators.

In recent months, Google’s influence on global regulatory efforts has also come under fire. Last month, The Washington Post reported that Google leveraged its connections to the U.S. Trade Representative to counter Canada’s Online News Act, which mandates compensation for news content.

The Justice Department’s major antitrust case against Google’s digital advertising business alleges that the company has monopolized digital market technology to capture revenue at publishers’ expense. In September, a former News Corp executive testified that the company considered switching from Google’s ad products in 2017 but calculated it would lose at least $9 million in revenue.

Closing arguments in the DOJ case are set for November 25, with a ruling expected early next year. In a separate case, a federal judge ruled in August that Google maintains an illegal monopoly over online search, with remedies expected next summer. The DOJ has warned that Google’s dominance, especially in the emerging AI landscape, could further entrench its market control if left unchecked.