Google was fined €500 million ($592.2m) by French authorities after the company failed to comply with last year’s orders on how to conduct “fair” talks with the country's news publishers and agencies before using their content on its platform.
The fine is the second-biggest anti-trust penalty in France for a single company, according to Bloomberg.
At the end of an in-depth investigation, the authority found that Google had not complied with several injunctions issued in April 2020
Isabelle de Silva,
president of Autorité de la Concurrence
The search engine company's negotiations with publishers and press agencies cannot be regarded as “having been conducted in good faith”, while it “imposed that the discussions necessarily take place within the framework of a new partnership”, said Autorité de la Concurrence, France's national competition regulator.
“At the end of an in-depth investigation, the authority found that Google had not complied with several injunctions issued in April 2020,” said Isabelle de Silva, president of Autorité de la Concurrence.
“Google refused, as it has been asked several times, to have a specific discussion on the remuneration due for current uses of content protected by neighbouring rights ... [it] restricted the scope of negotiation without justification.”
The decision took into account the “exceptional seriousness” of the breaches as Google delayed “the proper application of the law on neighbouring rights”, the authority said.
Neighbouring rights aim to ensure that French media outlets receive the correct compensation when their content is reused online by technology and internet companies. France was the first EU member state to apply this regulation after it adopted it into the national law in July 2019.
In April last year, France’s competition authority instructed Google to engage in talks with the country’s publishers to find an agreement under the neighbouring rights law.
“When the authority imposes injunctions on companies, they are required to apply them scrupulously, respecting their letter and their spirit. In the present case, this was unfortunately not the case,” Ms de Silva said.
“The authority will be extremely vigilant about the correct application of its decision, as non-execution can now lead to periodic penalty payments.”
Google has now been asked to come up with new proposals within the next two months on how it would pay French media houses for the use of their content. Failure will lead to additional fines of up to €900,000 per day.
Google said it was “very disappointed” with the decision.
“We have acted in good faith during the entire negotiation period. This fine does not reflect the efforts put in place, nor the reality of the use of news content on our platform,” the Alphabet-owned company said.
“This decision is mainly about negotiations that took place between May and September 2020. Since then, we have continued to work with publishers and news agencies to find common ground.”
The company has previously faced trouble in France over various issues.
Last month, it agreed to pay €220m to French authorities and said it will change the way its online advertising works.
In February, it was fined $1.3m by French authorities for misleading consumers with its ratings of hotels and tourist destinations.
In September 2019, Google agreed to pay €945m to French tax authorities to settle a long-running tax dispute.
In March 2019, it was also fined €1.5 billion by the EU for practices deemed to be anti-competitive. This followed previous anti-trust disputes in 2017 and 2018 that led to the company being slapped with total fines of €6.8bn.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
Company%20Profile
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Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
