In one of the biggest developments indicating the rising tension between big tech companies and media publishers, France’s competition watchdog fined Google heavily. It is a key moment in the ongoing debate about the rights of news publishers and the duties of digital platforms under EU copyright laws.
Google faces a fine of 250 million euros (approximately $272 million) that the French Competition Authority is proposing. On the global scene, this is one of the maiden antitrust decisions to find Google guilty of failing to meet the obligations that follow a European Union copyright directive of 2019. This directive requires digital platforms to fairly pay news publishers for their content. The French ruling is the latest development in what has been a broader move across the European Union to make sure these tech giants pay news organizations fair remuneration for their content and recognize the value of their news displayed on the platform.
The point of conflict between Google and the publishers has been a drag, whereby the French authority accuses Google of not being in good faith about its negotiations with the news publishers. It has now become an extremely high-profile case after a 2020 court ruling confirmed that Google needed to pay French news publishers as spelled out by the EU copyright directive. France was the first mover in these EU member states to operationalize this directive, by enacting a model bringing publishers and online platforms to negotiate and form content licensing agreements.
It is not the very first time though, the company was fined 500 million euros for such practices in 2021, pointing to a very long track record of not adhering to EU legal standards intended to help ensure that negotiations conducted online are fair for digital platforms and news publishers. Another French fine for the Competition Authority testifies that Google’s repeated violations of these rules are taken seriously.
In reaction to the fine, Google has agreed to settle, stating its intention to move forward and not to drag this thing any further. Google, meanwhile, takes exception to the amount of the fine and questions the correctness of the fine regarding the outlined issues but sees the necessity of taking care of them. The response from Google, so to say, gives in to a tendency of being open to change and possibly predicts a future where this tech giant engages with news publishers on a basis that is more open and fair.
Brandon is the cheif editor and writer at WorldUnfolds.com. With a passion for storytelling and a keen editorial eye, he crafts engaging content that captivates and enlightens readers worldwide.
