Polish regulator suspects Google abused dominance in publisher payment talks
Poland’s antitrust watchdog suspects Google abused its dominant position in negotiations over payments to domestic publishers for content shown in Search, Google News and Discover. The regulator said the maximum fine may reach 10% of a company’s turnover.
1. Regulator alleges unfair talks
Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection said it suspects Google failed to provide publishers with data needed to assess payment offers, creating an information imbalance that prevented fair negotiations. Google Poland said it was reviewing the decision and has licensing deals with more than 70 publications in Poland.
2. Probe and potential fine
The investigation concerns Google Search, Google News and Discover and follows a 2024 Polish copyright law amendment implementing an EU directive on remuneration for use of press publishers’ content. The regulator said the maximum fine for abuse of a dominant market position may be 10% of a company’s turnover; the Polish investigation is separate from a European Commission probe into publishers’ content in Google’s AI services.
