In a disagreement over copyright law, France’s competition commission fined Google 500 million euros (592 million USD).
Isabelle de Silva, the chief of the competition regulator, said in a statement on Tuesday that Google had not negotiated with French publishers in good faith.
According to the president, Google was found to have broken the competition regulator’s orders last April by refusing to discuss remuneration for the use of copyrighted information.
Google expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, arguing that the talks had always been fair.
The regulator’s feedback, on the other hand, would be taken into account, and its recommendations would be implemented, according to the company in a letter.
Google was also accused of failing to offer crucial information to its bargaining partners, according to the regulator.
Furthermore, the internet behemoth appears to have excluded a portion of the press from the talks.
Google responded by criticizing the decision for referring only to talks held between May and September 2020, rather than the current status of negotiations.
In addition to the fine, Google must now make an offer to pay for copyrighted information within two months of its usage to publishers and press agencies, as well as notify the regulator.
A daily penalty of up to 900,000 euros could be imposed if this is not done.