France Applies Tax Pressure To Google For Republishing News Snippets 350
Qedward writes "France may introduce a law to make Google pay to republish news snippets if it doesn't strike a deal with French news publishers before the end of the year, the office of French President François Hollande said. French publishers want to share in the revenue that Google earns from advertising displayed alongside their news snippets in search results. Readers are often satisfied by reading the headline and summary published by Google News, and don't feel the need to click through to the news site, the publishers say. In this way, Google profits and the content creators don't. The publishers want to be able to charge Google to compensate them for ad revenue losses."
Re:Minitel (Score:5, Informative)
Nope. It shut down on 30 June 2012 [bbc.co.uk]
Re:Banned from Google? (Score:5, Informative)
I wonder if they've ever heard of "robots.txt"?
Last I heard, Google was honoring it....
Re:Don't see the argument really (Score:2, Informative)
This would be pretty stupid.
The internet was and is opt-in: one opts in by putting up a public website and opening web server port to the internet. Afterwards, everyone - including you, search bots, mash up services etc. - can read it and do everything the copyright laws allow them to.
Internet is meant to be crosslinked and accesible by default. If you wish to make your site only for your limited circle - you're welcome to use access restrictions. But most sites are meant to be read and linked to.
Re:Banned from Google? (Score:5, Informative)
Google does let you index block just the News bot without blocking Search; you just have to setup different rules for the "Googlebot" and the "Googlebot-News" useragent. (It's the same bot, but it complies with both rules if they're defined).
Re:Banned from Google? (Score:4, Informative)
You can configure robots.txt to block Google News and not Search, Google has two different user-agents just for that.
They're just rent seeking, that's all.
Re:Banned from Google? (Score:4, Informative)
I see, you didn't ever visit Google News too.
I mean, yeah, right:
Review: 'Assassin's Creed III' a powerful sequelUSA TODAY - 49 minutes ago
A scene from 'Assassin's Creed III.' (Photo: Ubisoft). 12:40PM EDT October 30. 2012 - These poachers picked the wrong place to hunt.
Yup, got all I've needed from Google. Ok, let's pick another one:
Syrian air force on offensive after failed truceReuters - 1 hour ago
1 of 5. Smoke rises from what activists say was a missile fired by a Syrian Air Force fighter jet loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at Erbeen, near Damascus October 29, 2012.
Got all I need! I know exactly where the strikes were - in Syria! No need to know about what city, what scale, what consequences, Google told me everything.
Or this one:
Celtics' Doc Rivers won't reveal starting power forwardUSA TODAY - 34 minutes ago
Comments. Boston Celtics coach Doc River has several candidates to open at power forward Tuesday against the Miami Heat. Jared Sullinger 10-30-12.
Who cares who are those candidates? Google told me everything - they've got canditates and there's several of them! No need to find out who are they at all.
Next one:
Hurricane Sandy: What's Climate Change got to do With It?ABC News - 17 minutes ago
This photo provided by 6abc Action News shows the Inlet section of Atlantic City, N.J., as Hurricane Sandy makes it approach, Monday Oct. 29, 2012.
See, they've posted the answer to the headline's question right there in the summary! Nope, not visiting that article, no need to.
TL;DR: you can't be arsed to visit the site you're bashing. Well, I can't blame you, facts kinda get in the way of a good bashing.