Google to remove AFP content from GoogleNews

After being legally summoned by Agence France Presse (see former posting), Google has begun to remove the French agencies content from GoogleNews. A law suit in which AFP demands US17.5m in damages in addition to this removal was filed last Thursday and is predicted to have repercussions for GoogleNews if other new agencies begin to follow in AFP's path, refusing to allow Google to publish it's copyrighted material. This would result in a serious restructuring of GoogleNews, could possibly have similar effects on other aggregators, and could lead major news companies to distinguish themselves from the plethora of news sources on the Internet ultimately making it easier for these companies to charge for their online content. It is not yet known whether Google will have to pay the desired damages, nor when the search engine will complete removal of AFP's content.

Sources: Poynter and Digital media news for Europe