It’s been a while since we had one of those tedious Google vs. King Canute newspapers stories, but the latest installment is from Belgium where a court has ruled in favor of the Belgian Association of Newspaper Editors. Google has been ordered to stop publishing content from Belgian newspapers or face fines of $1.27 million per day. The association’s secretary general sounds a little confused - she said the objective is not to stop Google delivering its “very good” service, but that the problem is traffic doesn’t go through a publisher’s homepage.
Google said Monday that it plans to appeal the decision, adding that it wasn’t notified of the lawsuit or allowed to defend itself at the Sept. 5 hearing.
Huh? What’s the alternative to letting Google spread your content among web users? Letting rival publications pick up your traffic, and losing your weight and voice online. Just let it go - put it out there, and let it bring you traffic.
Related: International Newspaper Body To Search Engines: You Kleptomaniacs