GOOGLE TO APPEAL $590 MLN FRENCH FINE IN COPYRIGHT ROW

Wed 01 September 2021:

In a dispute with news publishers over the use of their content under EU copyright regulations, Google announced on Wednesday that it is appealing a decision by France’s antitrust watchdog to fine it 500 million euros ($590 million).

“We disagree with some of the legal elements, and consider the amount of the fine to be disproportionate compared to the efforts we have put in place to reach a deal and respect the new law,” Sebastien Missoffe, head of Google France, said in a statement.

In July this year, France’s antitrust watchdog slapped a 500 million euro ($590 million) fine on Alphabet’s Google 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.

Google said it was very disappointed with the decision but would comply.

“Our objective remains the same: we want to turn the page with a definitive agreement. We will take the French Competition Authority’s feedback into consideration and adapt our offers,” the U.S. tech giant said.

A Google spokesperson added: “We have acted in good faith throughout the entire process. The fine ignores our efforts to reach an agreement, and the reality of how news works on our platforms.”

(Input with agencies)

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