The French watchdog has fined Google 500 million euros ($ 593 million) for failing to negotiate in good faith with publishers and news agencies. This is the highest fine ever imposed on a company by the French Competition Authority.
Google has been fined € 500 million today for failing to comply with a ruling that required the company to negotiate with publishers and news agencies and agree to a content use license . The French Competition Council says Google violated a decree in April 2020 asking the company to negotiate in good faith with publishers and news agencies and get their positive feedback to regain access to their content.
The search engine giant must now come up with an offer to compensate for the use of news agency content within the next two months, otherwise € 900,000 a day could be added to the fine. Google has said it is "very disappointed" with the ruling, but is complying with the law.
Publishers such as APIG, SEPM, and AFP claim that Google has not in good faith continued to negotiate with them and has not raised the issue of paying for their current use of the content. APIG, which represents most of the French publications, including Le Figaro and Le Monde, is one of the current plaintiffs in this case. They signed a joint memorandum of understanding with Google a few months ago, but informed sources say the agreement was suspended pending a court ruling.
Under the agreement, Google agreed to pay $ 76 million to 121 AFP over three years. "We acted in good faith throughout the process," said a Google spokesman. "This fine ignores our efforts to reach agreement and the reality of how news works on our platforms."
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