According to reports, Google announced today that it submitted a proposal to the French antitrust regulator. Google hopes to resolve the dispute with French news organizations and publishers. The main reason for the dispute is payment for news content. The French competition authority (FCA) said in a statement that it will ask the public for proposals and all parties must respond by January 31, 2022.
For years, news organizations' ad revenues have been cut by news aggregators such as Google and Facebook. They complained that these tech companies used their content in search results or other features without paying any copyright. Google believes that its news search service provides only a very small portion of all news.
A revised European Copyright Directive was later adopted and France took the lead in its implementation. The new copyright law will force Google to pay publishers for news videos and require Facebook to filter protected content.
Today as part of its offer Google has promised "in good faith" to negotiate with news organizations and publishers about the cost of using its content. In addition, Google also promised bid for payment within 3 months after the start of negotiations. If they cannot come to an agreement, it will be possible to appeal to the arbitral tribunal. The court will then determine the amount that Google will have to pay.
Google said on its French official website that the proposal underscores Google's willingness to open a new chapter in copyright disputes. Last November, Google started paying AFP (AFP) for its news content.
Google and Facebook fought a similar battle in Australia earlier this year
Australia and Facebook are having a rough time on some of the issues surrounding Facebook's operations in Australia. As a result, Facebook was forced to ban Australian users from viewing or posting news on Facebook. However, both sides were in talks and the ban will end soon. However, the Australian Parliament passed a new law that obliges digital giants like Facebook and Google to pay local publishers for news content.
Google was indeed considering shutting down its search services in Australia. However, this was not the best option for the company. Since then, he has begun negotiations with Australian news outlets. Facebook has also banned Australian users from viewing or posting news on its platform. However, Facebook eventually lifted the ban.
Google previously reached an independent agreement to pay news fees to a number of Australian publishers, including the News Corporation, and Facebook is currently doing the same. In initial negotiations with Australia's largest publishers, Google struck a deal worth more than $ 47 million a year.
However, following additional reviews, the cost of officially signing commercial contracts is around $ 23 million per year. News outlets in Australia such as Nine Entertainment, Seven West and others have individual deals.
