Google poised to strike deal to pay French publishers for their news

Alphabet’s Google is set to reach a deal to pay French publishers for their news, the US tech giant said on Wednesday, the latest move to placate media groups and head off regulators siding with publishers seeking a level playing field.

Last week, the world’s most popular internet search engine said it planned to pay $1 billion to publishers globally over the next three years for their news, starting with German and Brazilian media groups under a new product called News Showcase.

The deal with French publishers would come on the eve of a ruling by a French appeals court on a so-called neighbouring right enshrined in revamped EU copyright rules, which allows publishers to demand a fee from online platforms for showing news snippets.