Google supplied to exclude its “Google News Showcase” service from common search ends in Germany to finish an investigation by the native antitrust regulator, the authority mentioned on Wednesday.
“Google has proposed measures to respond to our competition concerns,” Andreas Mundt, president of the Federal Cartel Authority, mentioned in a press release.
“The company no longer plans to include Showcase content in the general search results,” Mundt mentioned.
The regulator mentioned it is going to now perform consultations within the press publishing sector to find out if the measures “fit the purpose”.
Contacted by AFP, Google didn’t instantly touch upon the case.
Launched on the German market in 2020, Google News Showcase affords publishers the chance to position journalistic content material extra prominently on-line.
The American tech big deliberate to combine the brand new platform into its essential search outcomes, which might have multiplied the viewers for the fabric.
The regulator opened an inquiry after a grievance was filed by the publishing group Corint Media, which manages the rights of radio and tv stations, in addition to on-line information websites.
The writer feared that information teams that had not signed an settlement with Google would see their content material relegated in search outcomes.
The integration of Google News Showcase into search outcomes was “clearly designed to focus users’ attention on the new Google-owned news service and its press content”, Corint mentioned in a press release when the inquiry was opened.
“This exploits Google’s quasi-monopolistic position in the search engine market in an abusive manner to the detriment of press publishers not participating in the service,” the group mentioned.
The regulator additionally examined whether or not publishers who entered into an settlement with Google can be prevented from totally implementing their so-called neighbouring rights that may enable shops to demand compensation to be used of their content material.
Negotiations over Showcase can be “clearly separated from the ongoing negotiations regarding other ancillary copyright payments” in response to the difficulty, the regulator mentioned.
Google additionally assured that entry to the service can be primarily based on “objective criteria”, and won’t discriminate between publishers for different, particularly monetary, causes.
The announcement comes a number of days after the regulator categorized Google as an organization of “paramount significance across markets”, opening the door to enhanced surveillance of the tech big.
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