France: Digital minister says Facebook different from Google on copyright

Facebook’s refusal to pay for news in France under new legislation on the neighboring right for publishers does not have the same consequences as Google’s refusal, French Junior Digital Minister Cédric O said Monday, October 28.

“Facebook doesn’t raise the same issues [as Google]. Facebook doesn’t generate the same traffic, it’s not a search engine,” he told French radio France Inter. 

The French government is very unhappy with the way Google decided to implement the EU copyright directive’s neighboring right in the country.

Google changed the way press material appears online instead of signing licensing agreements with press publishers. France’s main press publishers announced they would file an antitrust complaint against the tech company, arguing Google abuses its dominant position.

Over the weekend, publishers also turned against Facebook when it became clear the social media company was not going to pay for licenses either.

“Facebook as such does fall under the scope of the neighboring right. The question is whether we can consider that sharing a press article on your news feed… falls under the neighboring right. That does raise a legal question,” Cédric O said.

Full Content: Politico

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