The anonymous Google representative in the ministers' letters said he "could not accept" that the introduction of 'related rights' to French press websites would, as publishers have claimed, "put into question [the French press's] very existence".
The representative also mentioned "in passing" that Google redirects 4 billion clicks per month to the web pages of France's newspaper publishers.
Aurélie Filippetti, France's culture minister, said on Wednesday she considered the introduction of the law "extremely pertinent" when she appeared in front of a French select committee.
The current draft of the law would provide for sentences of three years imprisonment and a fine of up to 300,000 euros (£243,000) for infringement.
"France has a track record of enacting laws to protect its local media interest that seem out of step with the conventional wisdom in other markets," Adrian Drury, an analyst with research firm Ovum, told the BBC.
"The question is whether by returning a search result Google is infringing the copyright of a site. The publishers will continue to contest this, but the general consensus is that it is not," he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment