“We disagree with some of the legal elements, and consider
the amount of the fine to be disproportionate compared to the efforts we have
put in place to reach a deal and respect the new law,” Sebastien Missoffe, head
of Google France, said in a statement.
The fine, issued by the French Competition Authority in
July, was the biggest in the agency’s history for a failure to comply with one
of its rulings.
The watchdog said Google had failed to negotiate “in good
faith” with media companies in a long-running legal battle over the internet
giant’s use of snippets of articles, photos and videos in search results.
The row has centred on claims that Google has used this
content in its search results without adequate compensation, despite the
seismic shift of global advertising revenues towards the search giant over the
past two decades.
In April last year, the French competition authority ordered
Google to negotiate “in good faith” with media groups after it refused to
comply with a 2019 European Union law governing digital copyright.
The so-called “neighbouring rights” aim to ensure that news
publishers are compensated when their work is shown on websites, search engines
and social media platforms.
Last September, French news publishers including Agence
France-Presse (AFP) filed a complaint with regulators, saying Google was
refusing to move forward on paying to display content in web searches.
While Google insists it has made progress, the French
regulator said the company’s behaviour “indicates a deliberate, elaborate and
systematic lack of respect” for its order to negotiate in good faith.
The Competition Authority rebuked Google for failing to
“have a specific discussion” with media companies about neighbouring rights
during negotiations over its Google Showcase news service, which launched late
last year.
Missoffe insisted Wednesday that Google “recognises
neighbouring rights, and we remain committed to signing agreements in France”.
“We have extended our offers to nearly 1,200 publishers and
modified aspects of our contracts,” he said, adding that the company has
“shared data demanded of us in order to conform to the Competition Authority’s
decision”.
(AFP)
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