A Paris court ordered Google on Wednesday to suspend a project that would potentially suppress certain media articles in search results, siding with a French media union’s claims that the scheme could unfairly limit visibility for some publications.
The SEPM union, representing French magazine staff, filed an emergency injunction against Google, alleging that the company was set to begin an experiment on Thursday that would remove specific articles from publishers with whom Google has disputes over copyright-related fees for online news.
Google countered that the plan was a time-limited experiment to assess how European publishers’ content affects user search experiences. However, the court ordered Google LLC, Google Ireland, and Google France to halt the project, warning of a €300,000 fine per entity if it proceeds.
France has been at the forefront of Europe’s copyright initiative on neighbouring rights, which allows media outlets to demand compensation for their content appearing in search results. After a prolonged standoff, Google and Facebook had agreed to pay some French media for content. Negotiations between SEPM and Google have remained ongoing.
Google said it was surprised by the injunction, noting that the experiment aimed to gather data in response to calls for more transparency from publishers and regulatory bodies.
In a similar development, Google was fined €250 million in March by French competition authorities for not fulfilling all commitments related to neighbouring rights.
Google’s case is part of a wider trend, with other tech giants facing similar lawsuits. Recently, prominent French media groups have filed legal actions against X (formerly Twitter) for non-payment over content usage, with a separate lawsuit by AFP set for court in May 2025.