[chavesn]

I agree with you that this is what the law seems to think (being overly broad), but not if you are arguing this is sensical.

In other words, yes, the WSJ does intend to only give Google access to their content, and not the general public.

But no, the WSJ has not "authorized" Google by anything more official than a bank telling their security guards to let anyone into the vault who is wearing a blue t-shirt.

So yeah, I agree with you, there is a lot of conflation of technical means and the law, but we also shouldn't be granting to the WSJ that they are doing any real "authorizing" here, beyond wishing it and hoping it stays true.