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As far as I can tell the switch to headlines only was an attempt by Google to skirt a court order after they had already violated copyright for years. Imagine
by josefx 5y ago
As far as I can tell the switch to headlines only was an attempt by Google to skirt a court order after they had already violated copyright for years.
Imagine you are a notorious drunk, end up in curt and the judge collects your drivers license and tells you exactly how to get it back, do you a) catch the next bus home or b) step into your over priced luxury car like a Google exec and drive away because you are above the law? Google did b).
- oytis 5y agoThey didn't violate copyright for years, news were never copyrightable in the first place. They violated a recently introduced EU directive which they agreed to stop violating by not showing snippets from French news websites anymore, but French court had explicitly forbidden them that and said they have no other choice than to buy their services. That doesn't sound like anything compatible with the rule of law to me.
- josefx 5y agoThat still leaves them in violation of anti trust law, which apparently was what they were fined for. Of course the popular opinion seems to be that laws that are meant to restrict abuse by monopolistic companies are not actually laws.