Danish online jobs site sues Google over copyright

Big tech behemoth Google has been accused of copyright violations by a Denmark-based online jobs site, Jobindex. The lawsuit, filed by the Danish Media Association (DMA) on behalf of Jobindex, accuses Google of copying job ads on the Jobindex site and reproducing them on its own online service, Google for Jobs, without permission. A DMA statement outlined the specifics of the case. “In the summer of 2022, Denmark’s largest job portal, JobIndex, discovered that Google and its partners were in some cases copying the portal’s job advertisements. “As a result, over the past year, Jobindex has attempted to get Google to acknowledge that the tech giant has copied job ads to the Google for Jobs service without permission, while also seeking compensation, damages and restitution for copyright and marketing law violations.” According to the DMA, Jobindex has seen a 20% reduction in organic traffic from Google since the introduction of Google for Jobs, which has resulted in increased marketing expenses. Google has so far disclaimed responsibility and denied infringing Jobindex’s rights, stated the DMA, thereby highlighting a significant need to hold tech giants accountable. Mads Brandstrup, the chief executive of the DMA, said the case was another example of big tech firms exploiting their ever-growing market power and engaging in bullying tactics. “What we’re seeing with Jobindex underscores the need to regulate and hold tech giants like Google accountable when they blatantly exploit other companies by copying content without consent for their own gain,” said Brandstrup. “Jobindex has tried multiple times to reason with Google, but without success. When Google disclaims all responsibility, we need to step in and demand that Google acknowledges copying content and thus violating copyright rules,” he added. “We’re willing to compete with Google, but it must be on equal terms, not with Google for Jobs having products on their shelves that aren’t theirs,” said Jobindex chief executive Kaare Danielsen. In response, a Google spokesperson told Reuters that Jobindex had not used Google’s own tools designed to flag any potential copyright infringement. “The Jobs function in Google Search was created to make job search as simple as possible, making it easier for people to find relevant job results more quickly and increasing traffic and job matches for participating job providers,” she said. “Any job provider – big or small – can take part. No one is included in the Jobs function in Search unless they want to be – and we respect any decision not to participate in these features.” The case is the first instance that the EU Copyright Directive Article 17 has been tried in a Danish court. The directive came into force in 2021 and was designed to account of the growing impact of digital media on copyright protections. It also makes sites more responsible for the content uploaded to their platforms. However, it is not the first time Google has been in trouble over its job search tool. Back in 2019, 23 online jobs sites wrote to the EU’s Competition Commissioner claiming that Google was unfairly pushing users towards its own services and relegating other jobs sites further down in search results. This complaint came two years after Google was fined €2.4bn by the EU for manipulating search results for its online shopping service.

Danish online jobs site sues Google over copyright

Want to read this article?

Read Next

CSDDD a ‘milestone for responsible business conduct’

Shifting climate litigation against corporates and D&Os ripe for growth

New Africa-focused syndicate launched at Lloyd’s

AM Best upgrades outlook for UK market and expects further rate hardening

Marsh extends Cyber ECHO facility to $125m of excess capacity

CSDDD a ‘milestone for responsible business conduct’

Shifting climate litigation against corporates and D&Os ripe for growth

New Africa-focused syndicate launched at Lloyd’s

AM Best upgrades outlook for UK market and expects further rate hardening

Marsh extends Cyber ECHO facility to $125m of excess capacity

Want to read this article?

Read Next

CSDDD a ‘milestone for responsible business conduct’

Shifting climate litigation against corporates and D&Os ripe for growth

New Africa-focused syndicate launched at Lloyd’s

AM Best upgrades outlook for UK market and expects further rate hardening

Marsh extends Cyber ECHO facility to $125m of excess capacity

Related Articles