In a landmark decision, France’s competition watchdog has imposed a hefty fine of $272 million on Google. This penalty is tied to a long-standing dispute over payments to French publishers for their news.

The French Competition Authority issued the fine due to Google’s failure to comply with certain commitments made in a negotiation framework. This dispute is part of a broader initiative by authorities in the European Union and globally to compel tech companies like Google to compensate news publishers for their content.

In 2020, a court upheld an order that required payments from Google, following a 2019 European Union copyright directive. Google, in response, stated that it agreed to settle the fine, which was imposed over how it conducted the negotiations. The tech giant expressed that the fine was “not proportionate” to the issues raised by the French watchdog and “doesn’t sufficiently take into account” Google’s efforts to answer and resolve the concerns.

France was the first among the EU’s 27 nations to adopt the copyright directive. This directive provides a way for publishers and news companies to strike licensing deals with online platforms. The French Competition Authority’s decision marks the fourth in as many years against Google for failing to comply with the EU legal framework.

This framework aims to establish “necessary conditions for balanced negotiations between press agencies, publishers, and digital platforms”. In 2020, the French antitrust agency issued temporary orders to Google to hold talks within three months with news publishers. In 2021, the agency fined Google $592 million for failing to negotiate a fair payment for publishers’ news.

This case sets a precedent for future negotiations between tech giants and news publishers. It underscores the need for a balanced and fair approach to negotiations, ensuring that publishers are adequately compensated for their content.