Google signs news rehosting deal with AFP
Google has signed a licensing agreement with news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) that will see the tech company paying to host its news content.
The deal was announced by the French news agency on Wednesday, November 17, following “months” of negotiations between the two companies.
This is the latest agreement between a news publisher and a tech giant under neighbouring rights imposed by the French Competition Authority.
The new rights were entered into French Law following the passing of Article 15 of the EU Copyright directive in March 2019, which requires EU states to enter laws allowing news publishers to be remunerated for the rehosting of their content.
Fabrice Fries, CEO of AFP said: “This agreement is a recognition of the value of information. This will contribute to the production of quality information and the development of innovation within the Agency.
“It illustrates the growing part that platforms are called upon to take in AFP’s activities, already supported by the very rapid development of digital investigation.”
France was the first country to adopt Article 15, transposing it into national law on July 24 2019.
According to the release, Google also struck a “wider” partnership with AFP, which will see the two companies collaborate on other projects, including a program dedicated to fact-checking.
Sébastien Missoffe, managing director of Google France said: “This agreement with Agence France-Presse demonstrates our willingness to find common ground with publishers and press agencies in France on the topic of neighbouring rights.
“This partnership will further support the work of AFP and paves the way for even closer collaboration between our teams in the future.”
News partnerships
This agreement comes amid pressure from agencies and governments for social media outlets and search engines to reimburse news publishers for hosting their content.
In January, Google signed a similar deal with Alliance de la Presse d’Information Generale, which represents close to 300 French news outlets including daily newspapers Le Monde, Le Figaro, and Les Echos.
The terms of Google’s deal include remuneration for the contribution that publication makes to political and general information, the daily volume of publications, and the monthly internet audience of that publication.
Last month, Facebook also signed a deal with the Alliance de la Presse d’Information Generale to pay for links to news stories shared on the social media platform.
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