France vs. Google
How does Google annoy France? Let me count the ways.
This week, the Agence France Presse sued Google for allegedly infringing on its copyrights by using the new outlet's photos and headlines without its permission. Among thousands of other news sources, Agence France Presse's stories and photos populate Google News, an aggregated hub or "cheat sheet" for popular news of the day.
The case, filed in the U.S. District Court of Columbia, will be closely watched and could embolden other publishers to strike at Google for its increasing power in the news aggregation business. Could this be the beginning of the Aggregator's unraveling?
Also this week, Google lost another
Finally, France's President Jacques Chirac TheNewPR/Wiki.