Facebooks refusal to pay for news in France under new legislation on the neighboring right for publishers does not have the same consequences as Googles refusal, French Junior Digital Minister Cédric O said Monday.

“Facebook doesnt raise the same issues [as Google]. Facebook doesnt generate the same traffic, its not a search engine,” he told French radio France Inter.

The French government is very unhappy with the way Google decided to implement the EU copyright directives neighboring right in the country.

Google changed the way press material appears online instead of signing licensing agreements with press publishers. Frances main press publishers said they would file an antitrust complaint against the tech company, arguing Google abuses its dominant position.

Over the weekend, publishers also turned against Facebook when it became clear the social media company was not going to pay for licenses either.

“Facebook as such does fall under the scope of the Read More – Source