Google signs an agreement with French publishers to create a framework of payment for snippet reuse and has reached agreements with three major newspapers
TechCrunchNatasha Lomas
Context & Ripple Effects
This agreement closes an eighteen-month standoff. In September 2019, Google refused to pay publishers in France, the first country to apply the EU's copyright directive, saying it would show only headlines and thumbnails unless publishers opted into previews. In April 2020, France's regulator ordered Google to pay for displaying snippets retroactive to October 2019 — and this framework, signed alongside individual deals with three major newspapers, is Google's capitulation.
The follow-on coverage shows what the framework became: by February 2021, settlement agreements had priced it at $22M annually across 121 publications for three years, and by late 2022 Google had layered its News Showcase product on top, partnering with 65+ publishers representing 130+ outlets in France.
First-order effects
Google moves from open refusal to paying for snippet reuse in France, with three major newspapers secured under individual agreements on top of the collective framework.
French publishers gain a negotiated licensing floor for content Google previously displayed for free, converting a regulatory order into contracted revenue.
Second-order effects
Other EU member states implementing the same copyright directive now have a priced precedent — Google's $22M-per-year settlement gives both regulators and publishers elsewhere a concrete benchmark for negotiation.
Rival platforms that display news snippets face pressure to strike similar French licensing deals or risk being the next enforcement target under the same order.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, snippet reuse shifts from a default free right to a licensed one across the EU, with Google's later News Showcase expansion in France showing how payment frameworks evolve into curated product partnerships that give platforms control over which paywalled content is freed up.
Publisher economics begin to depend on negotiating leverage against aggregators rather than traffic alone, entrenching large publisher coalitions as the units of bargaining.
The trend: Europe's neighboring-right regime is converting search-engine snippet display from an unpaid default into negotiated licensing, with France's enforcement setting the template other member states are following.
I'm so confused. Google, in France, will pay for news content: https://techcrunch.com/... But in Australia, no. https://www.reuters.com/... @geochingu?!
@vijayshekhar
Vijay Shekhar Sharma on x
One day, Google will treat Indian publishers equal to these French publisher and pay for content it uses to generate traffic. One day, just because we are Indian, we will not be treated unfairly by big tech companies. https://techcrunch.com/...
@adetolaov
Tola on x
MAJOR: Google has struck major digital copyright deal to pay French publishers for news content. Under the News Showcase, newspapers would be remunerated based on contributions to political & general information, daily volume & monthly internet audience. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@mariamamini
Mariam Amini on x
Google agrees to pay French publishers for news “Sébastien Missoffe, CEO of #Google France, said the deal 'confirms Google's commitment to compensate publishers appropriately under French law, and opens up new opportunities for our publisher partners.' https://www.cnbc.com/...
@glenngabe
Glenn Gabe on x
Google has reached an agreement w/an association of French publishers over how it will be pay for reuse of content snippets “It added that payments will go direct to publishers and terms will not be disclosed — noting they are strictly confidential.” https://techcrunch.com/... ht…
@mathewi
Mathew Ingram on x
Worth noting that Google thinks it can still use short snippets in search for free, but it looks like French publishers disagree, so this fight is probably not over. This is a good piece by @riptari https://twitter.com/...
@zachdcarter
Zach Carter on x
one way to regulate the tech giants is to make them pay publishers https://twitter.com/...
@stephenjadler
Stephen J. Adler on x
From Google: “Today we're announcing a new global deal with Reuters for News Showcase. Their in-depth coverage from 2,500 journalists around the world is indispensable and another example of the quality news content News Showcase is bringing to users."https://blog.google/...
@googlenews
@googlenews on x
Since we announced Google News Showcase last year, we've signed agreements with nearly 450 publications across a dozen countries. Today, we're announcing a new global deal with @Reuters. 1/ https://blog.google/...
@googlenews
@googlenews on x
2021 will be a year of major investment in News Showcase to create a great news experience for users around the globe. We are committed to doing this alongside news publishers as we play our part in developing a better future for quality journalism. 5/ https://blog.google/...
@rasmus_kleis
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen on x
Reuters latest publisher to sign deal for News Showcase. Google says nearly 450 publications across a dozen countries have signed up. (For comparison, last number of sources aggregated in Google News I've seen is 80,000. Search no doubt indexes many more) https://blog.google/...
@googlenews
@googlenews on x
News Showcase publications that are live in Brazil and Germany have already created tens of thousands of panels which have been seen by millions of users across Google News and Discover on Android and iOS. 3/ https://blog.google/... https://twitter.com/...
@jason_kint
Jason Kint on x
this statement from Google sends up major alarm bells. Note how they're effectively bundling payments for newly established neighboring rights into their “News Showcase” payoffs and then throwing out the $1B number from G news fund to shock and awe press. https://techcrunch.com/.…