1. France’s competition authority fined Google €250 million for breaching commitments with news publishers and using their content to train AI models.
2. Google previously faced fines for breaching negotiations with local publishers and agencies, leading to stricter regulations and copyright agreements in France.
3. The Autorité also sanctioned Google for failing to inform publishers about the use of their content for AI training, lack of transparency in payment calculations, and discrimination in remuneration.
France’s competition authority, the Autorité de la Concurrence, has imposed a €250 million fine on Google for violating copyright protections by using news publishers’ content to train its generative AI model Bard/Gemini without notifying the copyright holders. This decision follows a previous $592 million fine in 2021 for breaching negotiations with local publishers. Google, while initially appealing the latest fine, has since settled the dispute by agreeing to certain commitments such as fair negotiation with publishers and providing key information.
The competition authority’s enforcement focuses on Google’s use of news content from publishers and agencies to train its AI models without proper notification. While Google argues that its practices align with the EU Copyright Directive’s provisions on text and data mining, the authority disagrees and accuses Google of breaching its commitments by failing to inform publishers. Additionally, Google was sanctioned for not providing a technical solution for publishers to opt out of having their content used for AI training without affecting its display on other services.
The Autorité also found Google lacking in transparency and fair bargaining practices with French news publishers. Google’s methodology for calculating payments was deemed opaque, and it imposed discriminatory practices such as setting a minimum threshold for remuneration, resulting in some publishers receiving zero pay-outs. Moreover, Google did not update its remuneration contracts as per its commitments. The competition authority’s stance suggests a close scrutiny of Google’s actions in relation to copyright laws, indicating a larger concern over fair remuneration for publishers.