News organisations, which have been losing advertisement
revenue to online aggregators such as Google and Facebook, have complained for
years about the tech companies using stories in search results or other
features without payment.
New laws in France and Australia - fuelled by media lobbying
and public pressure - have given publishers greater leverage, leading to a slew
of licensing deals around the world collectively worth billions of dollars.
The AFP accord follows France enacting a copyright law that
creates “neighbouring rights,” requiring big tech companies to open talks with
news publishers that want a licensing payment.
Google declined to disclose financial terms of the deal, but
confirmed it would run for five years. The companies said in a joint press
release that they also will collaborate on projects, such as fact-checking.
“This agreement is a recognition of the value of
information," Fabrice Fries, Agence France-Presse's chief executive, said
in a statement.
Google earlier this year agreed to pay $76 million over
three years to a group of 121 French news publishers, not including AFP,
Reuters previously reported. But the deal has been on hold, pending the outcome
of an antitrust proceeding in which France's competition regulator has accused
Google of failing to negotiate in good faith.
Sébastien Missoffe, managing director of Google France, said
the AFP deal showed the tech company's "willingness to find common ground
with publishers."
The deal does not bring AFP into News Showcase, a feature
that Google launched last year that promotes content from over 1,000 publishers
that have agreed to license content for a fee.
Reuters signed a News Showcase agreement with Google in
January, and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp closed a similar deal a month
later.
Facebook last month signed a neighbouring rights deal with a
French alliance including dozens of publishers such as Le Figaro. -Reuters
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