Readers searching for content through Google may no longer have mandatory free access to articles published on websites that use a paywall. Google will now give such publishers freedom to decide whether they want to let non-paying visitors access their content.

Earlier, publishers were required to offer three articles a day for free to appear on Google Search results, even if they wanted to keep their content behind a paywall. The “First Click Free” policy – described as toxic by some large publishers – has been replaced by “Flexible Sampling”. Opting out of this policy meant publishers could not appear on top search results.

In a statement, Google said the rationale behind “First Click Free” was that readers need access to some content for free to decide whether they want to pay to read a website. However, instead of forcing publishers to allow a user three free articles a day, it will now allow them to “experiment with different free sampling schemes” themselves, Google said.

“Professional publishers provide the lion’s share of quality content that benefits users, and we want to encourage their success,” Google said.

When News Corp disabled free access to its articles on Google Search earlier this year, its stories were heavily demoted in search rankings, according to The Wall Street Journal. It led to a 38% fall in traffic from Google Search, and traffic from Google News was lower 89% on year in August.