John Mueller: Google does NOT penalize duplicate content for localized websites — it consolidates

Claim: Asked whether Google penalizes duplicate content for localized websites, John Mueller answered "The answer here is no." Duplicate content is consolidated, not penalized.

Source: Google SEO office hours, summarized by Search Engine Journal — https://www.searchenginejournal.com/when-is-duplicate-content-acceptable-for-local-seo-google-explains/519562/

Confidence: Verified.

The consolidation matters more than the non-penalty. Pages that get folded into one canonical "stronger" page don't rank under their own URL — see Mueller on near-duplicate vertical/location pages: fold them into one stronger page unless each has something unique. So the practical effect of near-duplicate vertical pages is that only one ranks at all, and the writer doesn't get to pick which one.