Google and Agence France-Presse in Paris have announced a joint venture. This deal will see Google pay an undisclosed sum to acquire content for Europe.
After 18 months of negotiation, the five-year agreement was reached. It comes at a time when Google is increasingly under pressure to pay content suppliers for material they distribute on its platform.
Fabrice Fries AFP CEO described the deal as ‘pioneering. It will support AFP news-gathering, reporting and operations throughout Africa.
This is the first time a news agency has reached an agreement under the European Directive 2019 on “neighboring Rights” – basically a form copyright that was created for three types of people other than technically authors, performing artists, producers and users of phonogrammes (symbols which are used to describe sounds) and broadcasters.
Multiple disputes between media giants and web giants over the payment of for online news or other content have been centered around neighboring rights.
Fabrice Fries, CEO of AFP (right) is seen with Sebastien Misoffe, managing director of Google France, at AFP headquarters in Paris.
Fries said that this agreement “covers the entire EU in all of AFP’s languages including countries that haven’t enacted it.”
He stated that the deal was “pioneering” and the culmination a long-standing struggle.
AFP distributes multilingual content in six languages to clients around the globe.
Google had initially been reluctant to pay French newspapers a fee for using their content. But, Google eventually signed a 3-year agreement with some French media outlets in early 2021. The French competition authority in July fined Google $566 Million for not having negotiated ‘in good faith’.
Google was initially reluctant to purchase news. It claimed news companies would benefit from the millions it sent to them.
News organizations, on the other hand, demand that digital giants be paid for content from news media, while also taking the largest share of advertising revenue.
Google appealed the July Fine and is currently in negotiations to come up with a new agreement.
Fries stated that AFP has fought to ensure news agencies are fully entitled to the benefits of neighboring rights agreements.
He said Wednesday’s agreement ‘will contribute the production of high-quality information and to the development of innovative within the agency.
Google, the internet giant and world’s largest provider of internet services, stated that this agreement demonstrated Google’s openness to working with European regulators
Sebastien Missoffe is Google’s French general manager. He said the agreement was an indication of Google’s willingness to collaborate with regulators and come up with a mutually acceptable deal.
He stated that the agreement reached with Agence France-Presse demonstrates his willingness to reach common ground with French publishers and media agencies on the subject of neighboring rights.
He said that the pact “paves way for closer collaboration”.
The agreement will allow AFP to offer fact-checking training across several continents. Details will soon be released by the companies, they said in a statement.
The dispute with Brussels and EU members states has been wide-ranging. It involves taxation and abuse of their market dominance, as well as privacy and making money off journalistic content.
This was addressed by the EU Directive, which created the copyright known as neighboring rights. These would enable outlets to seek compensation for the use of their contents.
Facebook had several agreements announced in October. This included a two year remuneration plan for French news media to cover their use of the content and their participation on Facebook News. Facebook News will be deployed in France by January 2022.
Media groups in France and Denmark joined hands to negotiate with tech companies. In Spain, Google declared on November 3, that its Google News service would be reopened in the early 2022.
A law in Australia has required tech companies to pay media outlets for their use of content.
Google revealed in October 2020 it will launch Google News Showcase and pay publishers over $1 billion for the next three-years through a program to license news.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has announced a 3-year agreement in which Google will be paid for content.
The Google News Showcase will feature the company’s brands from the U.S., U.K., and Australia. This includes The Wall Street Journal (New York Post) and The Wall Street Journal.
A press release stated that the agreement will see both companies enter into an advertising revenue-sharing arrangement, establish a subscription site, and YouTube invest in video journalism.
Don Harrison, President of Global Partnerships at Google, stated at that time, “News Showcase now boasts partnerships with more than 500 publications around the globe, demonstrating how this product can be of value to news partners and readers all over the world.” We plan to announce additional partnerships very soon.
Robert Thomson, News Corp. CEO, expressed gratitude for Google’s ‘thoughtful commitment in journalism’ and stated that it was happy to see terms of trade change, not just for News Corp but all publishers.