Google’s $ 76 million deal with French publishers enrages many media
Alphabet’s Google agreed to pay $ 76 million (approximately Rs 552 million) over three years to a group of 121 French news publishers to end a copyright dispute of more than a year, documents seen show by Reuters.
The agreement between Google and the Alliance de la presse d’information generale (APIG), a lobby group representing most of the major French publishers, was previously announced, but financial terms have not been disclosed.
The move angered many other French media, who deemed it unfair and opaque. Editors in other countries will examine the French deal, the highest-profile in the world under Google’s new program to provide compensation for news snippets used in search results.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) and other French news providers that do not belong to the group are not part of the agreement and are pushing various actions against Google.
The agreement follows France’s implementation of the first copyright rule enacted under a recent European Union law creating “related rights,” which requires large technology platforms to initiate discussions with publishers seeking remuneration for the copyright. use of news content.
In Australia, lawmakers have drafted a legalization that would require Google and Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content. Google has threatened to shut down its search engine in Australia if the country takes such an approach, which the company called “unworkable.”
The French documents seen by Reuters include a framework agreement in which Google will pay $ 22 million (roughly Rs. 160 crore) annually for three years to a group of 121 French national and local news publications after signing individual license agreements. with each one.
The second document is a settlement agreement under which Google agrees to pay $ 10 million (roughly Rs. 72 million rupees) to the same group in exchange for publishers’ commitment not to sue over copyright claims for three years.
Publishers would commit to an upcoming new product called the Google News Showcase that would allow publishers to select content and provide limited access to paid stories.
Google declined to comment on the terms of the deal.
In January, the Reuters news agency, a division of Thomson Reuters Corp, struck a deal with Google to be the first global provider of news for the Google News Showcase.
Reuters’ French rival AFP has maintained its complaint to the French antitrust watchdog against Google, an inside source said. Last month, AFP CEO Fabrice Fries welcomed the deal between Google and APIG, but asked the tech company to extend those copyright deals to news agencies.
MAKE GOOGLE PAY
Pressure on Google is mounting globally to pay for news content, as advertising and industry revenue have plummeted with the rise of digital platforms.
In Spain and Germany, publishers have tried but failed to charge Google for showing excerpts or snippets. German publishers lost a legal battle in 2019 for a billion euros in copyright since 2013.
The text of the EU rule on “related rights” was aimed at creating a new sustainable stream of income for news publishers.
In the United States, the news industry is backing legislation that would allow it to bargain collectively with major platforms without violating antitrust law. In Congress, lawmakers recently issued a report saying that dominant tech firms have hurt the news industry because they “can impose unilateral terms on publishers, like” take it or leave it “revenue sharing agreements.
Andrew MacLeod, CEO of Postmedia Canada, said publishers are watching discussions in other parts of the world. “We look for a result to grow and design our future instead of depending on a handout.”
LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
French publishers had no choice but to accept the deal, three sources close to the matter, citing pressure from shareholders.
The same sources said that some publishers were upset that Google refused to provide access to data showing how much money it makes from the news.
“These opaque agreements do not guarantee fair treatment for all news publishers, as the calculation formula is not made public,” the independent online news publishers union Spiil said this week. “Google took advantage of our divisions to promote its interests.”
The fees range from $ 1.3 million (approximately Rs. 9.44 million rupees) for the French reference newspaper Le Monde to $ 13,741 (approximately Rs. 9.98 lakh) for the local publisher La Voix de la Haute Marne , the documents show. They did not specify how the amounts were calculated.
Major national newspapers Le Monde, Le Figaro and Liberation and their groups traded around 3 million euros ($ 3.6 million) (approximately Rs. 26.14 million rupees) each per year, in addition to the deal fee. , particularly when agreeing in November to sell subscriptions through Google, said a source close to the matter.
The head of the Le Monde group, Louis Dreyfus, and the head of Liberation, Denis Olivennes, declined to comment. Representatives for Le Figaro were not immediately available for comment.
APIG chief Pierre Louette did not respond to messages seeking comment.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.