Google has paid more than 300 European publishers for news, and it will continue to do so

Alphabet unit Google has struck agreements with more than 300 publications in Germany, France, and four other European Union nations to pay them to distribute their content, according to Reuters. The business also plans to roll out a platform to make it easy for more publishers to sign up.

Google's decision, which will be made public later on Wednesday, comes three years after the adoption of landmark EU copyright rules, which require the company and other online platforms to compensate musicians, performers, authors and news publishers, as well as journalists, for the use of their work.

News publishers, who are among Google's most vocal detractors, have long lobbied governments to guarantee that internet platforms compensate them fairly for the material they produce. Australia has made these payments compulsory since last year. Canada has also passed a legislation similar to this one.

"We have agreements covering over 300 nationally syndicated, locally syndicated, and specialist news publications in Germany, Hungary... France, Austria, the Netherlands, and Ireland, with many more discussions ongoing," said Sulina Connal, director for news and publishing partnerships at the German Broadcasting Corporation. The site didn't say how much the publishers were paid.

There are two-thirds of German publishers in this group, including Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).

Publishers can join an extended news preview contract with Google, that will enable snippets and thumbnails to be displayed at a price.

About Google:

Google.com is presently the world's most viewed site. YouTube and Blogger are also among the top 100 most frequented websites globally. According to a 2019 analysis by London-based data analytics and insights firm Kantar, Google has been one of the world's top five most valuable brands since 2007.

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