Google won't follow Belgian court order

Google Inc. refused to comply Wednesday with a Belgian court decision that required the company to publish the original text of the ruling on its sites, calling that requirement "unnecessary" and "disproportionate."

Earlier this week, the Belgian Court of First Instance ordered the internet search engine to stop publishing content from Belgian newspapers without permission or payment of fees. Local newspaper editors argued that Google's popular news site, which features small photos and excerpts from news reported elsewhere, stole traffic from individual newspapers' sites.

Google complied with the ruling, which threatened to impose daily fines of about $1.27 million US against the company. Google is removing the Belgian newspapers from its indexes.

The court also demanded that Google post the original text of the ruling on its Belgian sites, Google.be and news.google.be.

The court is scheduled to rule Friday on whether Google must publish the text or face fines.

Google spokesman Steven Langdon said he hopes both aspects of the ruling will be overturned.

"We believe that Google News is entirely lawful and brings real benefits to publisher by driving web traffic and users to their sites. It is important to remember that we never show more than the headlines and a few snippets of text," Langdon said in an e-mail.

"If people want to read the entire story they have to click through to the newspaper's website."

The company will continue to defy the court's requirement that Google post the judgment to Belgian sites, he said. It's unclear whether the company will appeal.

"We argued in court today that this was disproportionate and now, given all the publicity the case has received, unnecessary," Langdon wrote.

Google News, which debuted in 2002, scans thousands of news outlets and highlights the top stories under common categories such as world and sports.

Many stories carry a small image, or thumbnail, along with the headline and the first sentence or two. Visitors can click on the headline to read the full story at the source website.

Legal scholars say Google could argue that the service adds value by significantly improving the news-consuming experience.

The French news agency AFP sued Google for at least $17.5 million in damages in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., arguing that the Google service adds little value because its news site looks much like those of AFP subscribers, albeit one where software and not human editors determine the placement of stories on a page.

Separately, Google has agreed to pay the Associated Press for stories and photographs. Neither Google nor New York-based AP have disclosed financial terms or other details because of a nondisclosure agreement.