American tech giant Google will pay U.S. $ 76 millions to Alliance de la presse d’information generale (APIG)
Alphabet Inc’s Google will pay U.S. $ 76 million to a lobby group representing 121 French news publishers – Alliance de la presse d’information generale (APIG), over the 3 years.
The move ends the year-long copyright spat between the United States (U.S.) based tech giant and French news publishers. While the agreement was signed earlier, the financial details have been disclosed now. However, some publishers are upset as Google refused to share details of how much profit it makes from news.
The deal follows the implementation of first copyright rule, under the European Union (E.U.) law which requires tech platforms to open talks with publishers seeking remuneration for use of news content.
Of this U.S. $ 76 million, Google will pay U.S. $ 22 million every year to a group of 121 national and local French news publications after signing individual licensing agreements with each. Google will also pay U.S. $ 10 million to them in exchange for the publishers’ commitment to not to sue over copyright claims for 3 years.
Besides, the publishers would commit to an upcoming new product called Google News Showcase that would allow publishers to curate content and provide limited access to paywalled stories. In January 2021, Reuters news agency struck a deal with Google to be the first global news provider to Google News Showcase.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union of Independent Online News Publishers – SPILL said, “These opaque agreements don’t ensure the fair treatment of all news publishers, since the calculation formula isn’t made public.”
It further said, “Google took advantage of our divisions to advance its interests.”
As per the deal, the fees range from U.S. $ 1.3 million for France’s reference daily Le Monde to U.S. $ 13,741 for local publisher La Voix de la Haute Marne. Leading national dailies Le Monde, Le Figaro and Liberation and their groups negotiated U.S. $ 3.6 million each per year on top of the fee in the agreement.
The deal has not been welcomed by many other French outlets who deem it unfair and opaque. Agence France-Presse (AFP) and other French news providers that do not belong to the group are not part of the agreement and are pressing forward with various actions against Google.
Separately, in Australia, lawmakers have drafted legalisation that would require Google and Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content. Google has threatened to shut down business in Australia if the new law is enforced. In U.S., the news industry is backing legislation that would allow it to negotiate collectively with the big platforms without violating antitrust law. Many other nations have started raising their concerns against the big tech companies for exploiting their market position.
