(Paris) The fine of 500 million euros (717 million CA dollars) pronounced in July by the Competition Authority against Google in the neighboring rights case has been settled by the American giant, which however did call, said Secretary of State for Digital Cédric O.
Seized by press editors and AFP, the Authority considered that Google had not negotiated “in good faith” the remuneration due to publishers and press agencies for rights related to copyright.
“The Competition Authority told us that the payment order had been issued and that the fine had been paid by the company Google”, replied Cédric O, questioned by Senator Laurent Lafon during questions to the government.
The Authority had also ordered Google to “present an offer of remuneration for the current uses of their protected content” to publishers and news agencies, under penalty of being subject to penalties of up to two months after a period of two months. to 900,000 euros per day in total.
This period having elapsed, “the ball is now in the publishers’ court”, in particular the General Information Press Alliance (Apig), whose framework agreement signed in early 2021 with Google has since been suspended, and the Syndicate of Magazine Press Editors (SEPM), said the Secretary of State.
“It is up to them to decide whether they wish to continue negotiating or ask the Competition Authority to impose the penalty payment”, he added, specifying that the Competition Authority also had the possibility to self-seize.
Google appealed against the fine in September, judging its amount “disproportionate” and declaring itself “in disagreement with certain legal elements”.
On November 17, Google and AFP reached an agreement to pay for five years the content of the international press agency presented by the American giant, for a lump sum that remained confidential.
The notion of rights related to copyright allows newspapers, magazines or press agencies to be remunerated when their content is reused on the web.
It was established for online platforms by Article 15 of the European Copyright Directive, adopted in March 2019 by the European Parliament after more than two years of fierce debate.