Poland’s competition watchdog has accused Google of withholding data publishers need to assess payments for their journalism, alleging that the information gap prevented them from negotiating fairly.
The October 5 case names Alphabet Inc, Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited and Google Poland. UOKiK will examine each company’s responsibility during the proceedings; its announcement contains no finding of liability or imposed fine.
Google’s offers allegedly came without the supporting data
UOKiK, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, says Google failed to explain how it used press content or the revenue generated from it. Publishers allegedly received neither the calculation parameters behind Google’s offers nor documents that would let them check the assumptions.
The dispute follows Poland’s 2024 copyright law amendment, which implemented EU rules giving press publishers rights to remuneration for qualifying use of their publications by online services.
UOKiK says it is investigating the conduct of negotiations and is not judging whether Google’s proposed rates are adequate. Poland’s Office of Electronic Communications, UKE, can set remuneration if the parties cannot agree.
Reuters reported that the four companies did not immediately respond to its request for comment.
In a June 18 policy statement, Google said its Extended News Previews programme paid more than 5,500 European publications for press content. The statement describes its European programme overall and predates the Polish allegations.
Payment data determines what publishers can challenge
Google’s licensing agreements give it a record of paying publishers, but the Polish case asks how publishers can scrutinise an individual offer. Access to usage records and calculation inputs would let them dispute omitted content or a valuation assumption with evidence.
SEW’s earlier coverage of Google’s AI contribution pilot described similar transparency concerns in a separate payment scheme. Digiday’s reporting found that participating publishers could see monthly earnings in Search Console but received little detail about how payouts were calculated. Some participants nevertheless welcomed the direct payments and collaboration with Google.
The European Commission’s separate investigation, opened on December 9, 2025, concerns compensation and publisher opt-outs for AI uses, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. Poland’s case covers negotiations for content in Search, News and Discover.
Source: UOKiK
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