German Regulator Rejects German Newspapers' Cynical Attempt To Demand Cash From Google

from the nice-try-but-no dept

Back in June we wrote about the ridiculous and cynical attempt by a number of big German newspaper publishers, in the form of the industry group VG Media, to demand 11% of Google's gross worldwide revenue on any search that results in Google showing a snippet of their content. We noted the hypocrisy of these publishers seeking to do this while at the same time having done nothing to remove themselves from Google's search -- and, in fact, using Google's tools to help them rank higher in search results. In other words, these publishers know that ranking high helps them... and yet then still demanded cash on top of that.

VG Media had specifically filed an arbitration request with the German government, but it has now been rejected. And, while German regulators didn't go so far as to say they found the claim laughable, they did the regulator-speak equivalent:
“Sufficient suspicion is always necessary to initiate an abuse procedure. The complaint from VG Media did not establish this,” Andreas Mundt, president of Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, said in a statement on Friday.
Those poor, poor newspapers will just have to go back to accepting free traffic from Google, via Google News (a site that doesn't have ads in Germany). Whatever will they do now?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: copyright, germany, google news, newspapers, payments, snippets
Companies: google, vg media


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • icon
    kenichi tanaka (profile), 26 Aug 2014 @ 1:49pm

    Google should just de-list the websites of those newspapers simply for making such a ridiculous demand. I remember the last time this happened that some media organizers were outraged that Google had threatened to delist them and then halted their lawsuit over news snippets being posted on Google.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    That Anonymous Coward (profile), 26 Aug 2014 @ 5:29pm

    We don't want to do the work to remain relevant & make money.
    Google makes money, so they should just give it to us.

    This is the common refrain over and over from legacy companies who still today do everything possible to avoid the basic fact - the world changed and we refused to keep up.

    If someone else gives them the tools, they might use them.
    If someone else gives them traffic, they might like that.
    If someone else is successful, they should have to pay us.

    Sadly outside of a few small sphere without much direction to demand change, this is ignored by the masses.
    Imagine if Google had just pulled YouTube out of Germany after GEMA's last stunt. Think the citizens might be curious why? Think they might look at what GEMA is doing and ask why they are actively hurting artists while lining GEMAs pockets (not the artists).

    All of these large providers have power to effect change, but none of them seem willing to stop dealing with frivolous lawsuits & proposed laws by taking their ball and walking away. Fighting them in court isn't standing up to the bullies, turning the very angry public upon them is.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 Aug 2014 @ 8:57pm

    *checks previous thread*

    Mr. Oizo, time for you to eat crow.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    techflaws (profile), 26 Aug 2014 @ 10:16pm

    You forgot to mention that the German regulator also hinted at the collusion of publishers possibly being worth investigating itself. LOL!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 27 Aug 2014 @ 3:23am

    Good thing Google doesn't charge them for the privilege of appearing in search results...

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.