Paris, Nov 14 — A Parisian court has mandated Google to immediately stop a contentious project that allegedly manipulates media article visibility in search results. This ruling comes in response to an emergency injunction filed by the SEPM union, representing magazine journalists across France.
The union accused Google of planning to test a scheme that would exclude articles from media outlets currently in dispute with the tech giant over digital rights. Google’s response was that the project was merely a “time-limited experiment” designed to assess how European publishers’ content influences user search experiences.
The court’s order requires Google LLC, Google Ireland, and Google France to halt the test, with a potential fine of €300,000 for non-compliance. SEPM, which includes 80 media groups, praised the decision as a victory for the French press’s interests.
Google expressed surprise at the injunction, arguing that its experiment aimed to collect data due to requests from independent authorities and press publishers seeking more information on how news content display impacts search engine results.
This legal skirmish is part of broader negotiations over “neighbouring rights,” a form of copyright that allows print media to demand compensation for the use of their content online. France has led the way in enforcing these rules, and after initial resistance, both Google and Facebook have agreed to compensate some French media outlets for articles displayed in web searches.
The ruling has wider implications for how digital platforms interact with news media, especially in terms of content visibility and monetization. As digital giants like Google navigate these legal landscapes, their strategies will likely influence global digital rights negotiations.
