France fines Google 250 million euros for using media content without permission technology

The French Competition Authority fines Google 250 million euros (1.36 billion Brazilian reals) For not adhering to an agreement requiring the company to pay media outlets for the use of its content on the Internet.

The agency claimed in a statement that Google “failed to fulfill some of its obligations it made in June 2022” regarding press rights set by the agency.

The rights were created in 2019 under a European directive and allow newspapers, magazines and news agencies to receive payments when their content is used in online search engines, such as Google, which display excerpts of newspaper stories on results pages.

The body criticizes major technology companies for “failing to respect four of the seven obligations” and, in particular, for “failing to negotiate in good faith” with newspaper publishers to assess rights-based pay.

The problem is in other countries

According to the New York Times, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has also entered into a conflict with Australia and Canada. Both countries have projects that force big tech companies to pay for journalistic content shared on their platforms.

Australia was the first country in the world to introduce a law on the subject. It was approved in 2021, and that year, media outlets earned $200 million from the decision, according to the Financial Times.

The measure has sparked resistance from technology companies, especially Meta and Google. In response, Zuckerberg's company blocked news from being shared and displayed there. Google threatened to ban the search engine in the country, but backed down, announcing agreements with Australian media.

What is the Google About fine France

Google stated in a statement that it considers the value of the fine “disproportionate” to the “violations” presented by the French authority.

Google said in a statement, “We have made a commitment because it is time to turn the page, and as our numerous agreements with publishers prove, we want (…) to work constructively with French publishers.”

He added: “Since the law entered into force, the absence of clear regulatory measures and successive legal procedures has complicated negotiations with publishers and prevented us from calmly thinking about our future investments in the information field in France.”

TikTok CEO is being questioned about his citizenship in the US Senate

Apple Vision Pro: See first impressions of the VR headset

A robot that makes videos using artificial intelligence makes missteps