Google's inks 'unfair' $76 million deal with French publishers

Google has agreed to pay $76 million over three years Alliance de la presse d’information generale (APIG), a lobby group representing 121 French news publishers, infuriating other French outlets, which deemed it unfair and opaque.

Under the agreement, Google will pay APIG $22 million annually for three years after signing individual licensing contracts with each. Google also agreed to pay $10 million to APIG for the commitment not to sue over copyright claims for three years.

The publishers would also commit to an upcoming product dubbed Google News Showcase, which would allow publishers to curate content and provide limited access to paywalled stories.

The agreement, meant to end a more than year-long copyright spat, follows France’s implementation of the first copyright rule enacted under a recent EU law that required large tech platforms to negotiate with publishers seeking remuneration for use of news content under what was dubbed as “neighboring rights.”

According to Spiil, a union of independent online news publishers, Google took advantage of divisions among French publishers to advance its interests. It added that the agreements isn't fair for all news publishers, since the calculation isn’t made public.” The fees range from $1.3 million for reference daily Le Monde to $13,741 for local publisher La Voix de la Haute Marne.

Agence France Press (AFP) and other French news providers not belonging to APIG are pressing forward with various actions against Google.

AFP has maintained its complaint against Google with the French antitrust watchdog, an internal source said. Last month, AFP’s CEO Fabrice Fries called on Google to extend such copyright deals to news agencies.

According to French publishers, they were pressured by shareholders to go along with the deal. They were also upset that Google refused to divulge data on how much it earns from the news.

In Australia, Google has threatened to shut down its search engine in if the country required it to pay publishers and broadcasters for content. Google deemed such arrangement as “unworkable.”

Last month, the Reuters news agency became the first global news provider to Google News Showcase.