Gaspard Sebag
Bloomberg
Gaspard Sebag wrote this article in Bloomberg:
Google was fined 500 million euros ($593 million) in France after the search giant failed to follow an order to thrash out a fair deal with publishers to use their news content on its platform.
The Alphabet Inc. unit ignored a 2020 decision to negotiate in good faith for displaying snippets of articles on its Google News service, the Autorité de la concurrence said Tuesday. The fine is the second-biggest antitrust penalty in France for a single company.
France isn't alone in trying to hold tech giants to account over their use of news. Australia earlier this year required digital giants like Facebook and Google to pay local publishers for news. Google has been increasingly paying publishers but on its own terms, with a $1 billion Google News Showcase to point readers to news content.
The company is facing a global onslaught as regulators across the world sharpen scrutiny of the world's largest tech firms, looking at its advertising business, apps and search.
"The sanction of 500 million euros takes into account the exceptional seriousness of the breaches observed," said Isabelle de Silva, president of the French agency.
Google is "very disappointed" with the decision and considers it "acted in good faith throughout the entire process," a spokesperson said. Google added that it's about to reach an agreement with Agence France-Presse that included a global licensing agreement.
Google can appeal Tuesday's penalty announcement.
Google was fined 500 million euros ($593 million) in France after the search giant failed to follow an order to thrash out a fair deal with publishers to use their news content on its platform.
The Alphabet Inc. unit ignored a 2020 decision to negotiate in good faith for displaying snippets of articles on its Google News service, the Autorité de la concurrence said Tuesday. The fine is the second-biggest antitrust penalty in France for a single company.
France isn't alone in trying to hold tech giants to account over their use of news. Australia earlier this year required digital giants like Facebook and Google to pay local publishers for news. Google has been increasingly paying publishers but on its own terms, with a $1 billion Google News Showcase to point readers to news content.
The company is facing a global onslaught as regulators across the world sharpen scrutiny of the world's largest tech firms, looking at its advertising business, apps and search.
"The sanction of 500 million euros takes into account the exceptional seriousness of the breaches observed," said Isabelle de Silva, president of the French agency.
Google is "very disappointed" with the decision and considers it "acted in good faith throughout the entire process," a spokesperson said. Google added that it's about to reach an agreement with Agence France-Presse that included a global licensing agreement.
Google can appeal Tuesday's penalty announcement.
