According to the Report, France fined Google €500m over news copyright dispute Google has failed to deal with French news authorities. French antitrust authorities have fined Google €500m (£428m) for ignoring a regulator’s order to negotiate consistently with state news publishers over copyright.
French antitrust authorities have fined Google €500m (£428m) for ignoring a regulator’s order to negotiate consistently with state news publishers over copyright.
US tech companies should make proposals within the next two months how news agencies and other publishers can compensate for using their news. Otherwise, there is a risk of an additional fine of up to 900,000 euros per day.
Google said it is very disappointment with the decision but would abide by it. “Our goal remains the same: we want to turn things around with a final agreement. We will consider feedback from the French competition authorities and adjust our proposals,” the American technology company said.
Google Spokesperson Statement
A Google spokesperson added: “We acted in good faith throughout the process. The fines ignore our efforts to reach agreement and the reality of how news works on our platform. “
News publishers APIG, SEPM and AFP have accused the tech company of failing to talk to them in good faith to find a common ground for remuneration for online news content, according to a recently released EU directive that creates the so-called “Neighbor’s Rights”.
The case itself centers on whether Google has violated an initial order from the antitrust agency, which insists that such conversations with news publishers take place within three months if requested.
“When the board assigns an obligation to the company, it must strictly comply with the spirit and letter (decision). Unfortunately, this is not the case here,” said the head of the competition authority, Isabel de Silva. He added that regulators believe that Google did not act in good faith in negotiations with publishers.
“APIG, which represents most of France’s major print news publishers, including Le Figaro and Le Monde, remains one of the plaintiffs despite signing a framework agreement with Google earlier this year” Reuters sources said. The framework agreement postponed pending an antitrust decision, sources said.
The framework agreement, criticized by many other French media outlets, is one of the most popular agreements under the Google News Showcase program to compensate for snippets of news in search results and the first in Europe.
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