Recent reports show that the country of France has decided that its news is valuable -- valuable enough to demand commission for each time their news sources are linked by search engines. The idea stems from the fact that with online news, people are no longer inclined to buy subscriptions from the printed press since it is available for free online. Hence, in a way, search engines like Google are infringing on their market, and a commission would help the French press stay competitive.
Google, however, attacked the issue, threatening to "boycott" the French press by refusing to link to their content. This would, inevitably, be a huge blow to the prevalence of their news outlets, belittling them in the minds of the public and discouraging readers. Google is by far the largest search engine in existence and their shunning of the French press would most certainly lead to a rapid decline in the French market.
The search engine posted a formal letter of complaint online (in French) specifying their position.
The problem with this issue is that neither side is immediately in the wrong. Google claims to be defending the mindset of a free Internet, while the French press claims that Google is infringing on their market and that they have the right as a corporation maintain competitive. Talks are being made between the two companies on the matter at hand.
Meanwhile, it's frightening how much power Google has; the fact that they're able to essentially shut down any website or corporation by removing them from its engine demonstrates that they aren't limited to the domain of information tech. If they wanted to, they could essentially threaten companies to do their bidding, under threat of removal. And while there haven't been any signs of that so far, it may become a problem requiring federal intervention.
The government has an obligation to protect capitalism and fair competition, as it did during the trust-busting protocols of the Reconstruction Era. Hence, if Google were to extend itself too far, monopolizing not only its own field but every domain, then the government is obligated to protect threatened companies.
This case is, however, especially unique, as the issue of French publishing is no longer domestic but rather part of foreign policy. Hence, regulated competition need not apply. Overall it's an interesting case of the power of monopolies and worth looking in to.
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