Hollande sided with the publishers, insisting that Google had better reach an agreement to pay up by the end of the year.
Google wouldn’t comment directly on the French negotiations but clearly finds that position unacceptable. It’s similar to a proposed law making the legislative rounds now in Germany, and Google is on record as being against that law as well. “It’s no secret that we think a law like the one proposed in Germany would be very damaging to the Internet,” said a Google spokesperson. “We have said so publicly for three years. We hope it will not be implemented.”
