- By Hamzakhan
- March 24, 2023
Google was fined €500m (£427m) by French Competition Authority over an understatement negotiation related to the Google news service content issues.
The French competition authority accused Google of failing negotiation “in good faith” with news organizations and not taking orders seriously.
The decision “ignores our efforts to reach an agreement,” told Google.
The battle between tech firms and news organizations over a global copyright issue results in a fine, which is the latest skirmish.
Autorité de la concurrence told that Alphabet Inc. ignored the decision made last year on negotiation in good faith for emerging snippets of articles on its Google News service. For a single company, a fine is the second biggest antitrust penalty in France.
Google is the world’s largest firm, looking at its apps, search, and advertising business, but also facing the global onslaught as regulators sharpen scrutiny across the globe. In Russia, Google is trying to reach an out-of-court settlement following a court ruling that would require it to unlock the YouTube account of a TV channel owned by a US-backed supporter of President Vladimir Putin.
“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.
The decision was very dissatisfied for and considers it “acted in good faith throughout the entire process,” a spokesperson said. An agreement with Agence France-Presse is about to arrive that included a global licensing agreement, Google added. On Tuesday, Google may appeal the announcement of the fine.
French regulators are soon going to show their strength with Tuesday’s fine as it vies with its EU and German counterparts to be the region’s toughest watchdog of US tech firms. Over the last few years before the end of probes, the authority has ordered behavioral changes, which can prolong for years. While other antitrust agencies are encouraged to emulate the tactic, Google’s defiance risked jeopardizing it.
Google entered into a deal to remunerate a grouping of French newspapers earlier this year — Alliance de la Presse d’Information Générale. But the regulators dismissed Google’s offered remuneration as “negligible.”
James Robert is a journalist who covers all the social media and tech-related news for SG-educate, the world’s largest multimedia news agency. He reports on tech from all over the world, focusing mostly on social media platforms. He has worked as a digital editor and online coverage of global breaking news on tech and big stories, reaching millions of readers across multiple platforms.
