France Stands up to Google..$737 M lawsuit
Globe/wire say Postmedia sees France stand up to Google
2021-07-14 08:29 ET - In the News
See In the News (C-PNC) Postmedia Network Canada Corp (2)
The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that France's antitrust watchdog slapped a 500-million-euro ($737-million (Canadian)) fine on Alphabet's Google on Tuesday for failing to comply with the regulator's orders on how to conduct talks with the country's news publishers in a row over copyright.
A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the fine comes amid increasing international pressure on on-line platforms such as Google and Facebook to share more revenue with news outlets.
Google must now come up with proposals within the next two months on how it would compensate news agencies and other publishers for the use of their news.
If it does not do that, the company would face additional fines of up to 900,000 euros a day. Google said it was disappointed with the decision but would comply.
A Google spokesperson claims to "have acted in good faith throughout the entire process." News publishers APIG, SEPM and AFP, however, accuse the tech company of having failed to hold talks in good faith.
The case itself focused on whether Google breached temporary orders issued by the antitrust authority, which demanded such talks take place within three months with any news publishers that ask for them.