EU gets tough on Google and Facebook
Under new rules, Google and online platforms will have to sign licensing deals with musicians, news publishers, performers, authors and journalists to use their work
Brussels — Google will have to pay publishers for news snippets and Facebook filter out protected content under new copyright rules aimed at ensuring fair compensation for the EU's $1-trillion creative industries. On Monday, EU governments backed the move launched by the European Commission two years ago to protect Europe's creative industries, which employ 11.7-million people in the bloc. "When it comes to completing Europe's digital single market, the copyright reform is the missing piece of the puzzle," the Commission's president Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement. Under the new rules, Google and other online platforms will have to sign licensing agreements with musicians, performers, authors, news publishers and journalists to use their work. The European Parliament gave a green light last month to a proposal that has pitted Europe's creative industry against tech companies, internet activists and consumer groups. Wikipedia blacked out several European sites in protest in M...
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