• by Ray Schultz , September 1, 2021

Google has appealed the $591 million fine handed out by the French anti-trust authority in July on the grounds that it is “disproportionate.” 

“We disagree with a number of legal elements, and believe that the fine is disproportionate to our efforts to reach an agreement and comply with the new law,” states Sebastien Missoffe, head of Google France. 

“Irrespective of this, we recognize neighboring rights and we continue to work hard to resolve this case and put deals in place. This includes expanding offers to 1,200 publishers, clarifying aspects of our contracts, and we are sharing more data as requested by the French Competition Authority in their July Decision,” he adds.

The appeal will not hold up the execution of the fine, said the Autorité de la Concurrence, according to reports.   

The case concerns alleged failure by Google to observe requirements set down by authorities when negotiating copyright fees with small publishers in 2020 for the news shorts that appear on its site.  

The Autorité said in July that Google must come up for a plan to compensate publishers. Failure to do so could result in additional penalties.  

Google has also challenged a $2.8 billion antitrust fine levied by the EU commission in 2017.