European publishers comment on Google’s decision to conclude licensing agreements with some publishers from Australia, Germany and Brazil.

EMMA and ENPA consider the fact that Google is now finally ready in principle to pay for the use of press content as a first success of the EU copyright directive even before its implementation across the EU.

However, newspaper and magazine publishers need clear rights and not fig leaf campaigns. Google continues using press publishers’ and journalists’ content without paying and, like most recently in France, imposes its market power, even when exclusive property rights should prevent this.

Against this behaviour, robust rights which cannot be bypassed by mega-platforms are necessary everywhere in Europe. We also need EU Member States to act swiftly towards the implementation of a strong press publishers’ right across the EU.

Ilias Konteas, Executive Director of EMMA and ENPA said:As the voice of the press publishing industry in Europe, we support the need for an asymmetrical ex-ante legislation for megaplatforms, which also ensures non-discriminatory access to the mega-platforms’ services, to be put forward by the European Commission before the end of the year.».

EMMA

The European Magazine Media Association, is the unique and complete representation of Europe’s magazine media, which is today enjoyed by millions of consumers on various platforms, encompassing both paper and digital formats.

www.magazinemedia.eu
ENPA

The European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA) is the largest representative body of newspaper publishers across Europe. ENPA advocates for 14 national associations across 14 European countries, and is a principal interlocutor to the EU institutions and a key driver of media policy debates in the European Union.

www.enpa.eu