Europe Going After U.S. Tech Giants

European Publishers Play Lobbying Role Against Google

Mark Scott and Nicola Clark | August 28, 2015

In private sessions this summer, giant publishers and media companies from Germany, France and elsewhere have met with European officials about proposals to regulate Europe’s digital economy. The discussions have covered a broad range of contentious issues, according to public disclosures and several people who attended or were briefed on the meetings. Central to almost all of them has been limiting the reach of a single American company: Google.

They justified the step by saying that Google still did not want to pay to use their publications: "So bringing a civil claim before the responsible court is the only way to enforce the ancillary copyright for press publishers against Google," the VG Media spokesman said.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-media-germany-idUSKBN0UJ1KF20160105  

"What we're aiming for has nothing to do with Google as such -- it has to do with the market allowing innovation," said [Margrethe] Vestager [who spearheaded the EU investigation].

Source: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/90710/20151003/eu-antitrust-regulator-denies-accusations-bias-against-google-companies.htm

<more at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/29/technology/european-publishers-play-lobbying-role-against-google.html?_r=1; related links: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-media-germany-idUSKBN0UJ1KF20160105 (German publishers have filed complaint against Google: VG Media. January 5, 2016) and http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/business/international/european-union-google-antitrust-case.html (+Video) (Europe Challenges Google, Seeing Violations of Its Antitrust Law. April 15, 2015)>