Brussels, 01/09/2021 (Agence Europe) – The digital giant Google announced on Wednesday 1 September that it would appeal the €500 million fine imposed on it on 13 July by the French competition authority in the neighbouring rights case (see EUROPE 12761/26). The French competition authority - whose decision represented a European first on this subject - had primarily considered that the American company had not negotiated “in good faith” with press publishers regarding remuneration for the latter in the event of their content being taken up online. “We disagree with some of the legal elements and consider that the amount of the fine is disproportionate to the efforts we have put in place” said Google France’s managing director, Sébastien Missoffe, in a statement. (TM)