In October, Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) launched formal antitrust proceedings against four entities within the Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) structure—Alphabet, Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited, and Google Poland—over allegations of dominant market position abuse and superficial licensing negotiations with domestic publishers.
Google Faces Polish Investigation over Copyright Compensation
- Regulatory Risk: UOKiK’s investigation targets Google’s alleged failure to comply fully with the European Union’s DSM copyright directive regarding compensation for news content.
- Financial Exposure: Under Polish competition law, if the regulator confirms the abuse of a dominant position, the statutory maximum penalty reaches up to 10% of annual enterprise turnover.
- Corporate Defense: Google Poland maintains it has structured ongoing negotiations with more than 20 local publishers covering dozens of outlets, including the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Antitrust Scrutiny Over EU Copyright Directive Compliance
The regulatory action stems from the implementation of the European Union’s Digital Single Market (DSM) copyright directive. In 2024, Poland implemented the European Parliament and Council Directive (EU) 2019/790, which required website operators to establish financial compensation for media outlets when utilizing their journalistic publications. According to UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny, the proceedings center on whether Google utilizes its powerful market position to bypass fair compensation frameworks for press publishers.
The regulatory body also contends that the negotiation process amounted to a superficial formality.
Asymmetric Information and Allegations of Superficial Negotiations
UOKiK’s primary objection focuses on the methodology and data transparency governing Google’s financial offers. Big tech companies cannot place themselves above the law.
This information asymmetry effectively rendered negotiations illusory, leaving publishers unable to verify compensation fairness. Market research data indicates steep year-over-year declines in real users for major publishing groups in Poland, compounding the economic pressure on traditional media outlets dependent on referral traffic. Data analyzing 130 sites showed that page views for publishing groups in Poland with at least 1 million real users dropped year-over-year by 20.1 percent, representing a decrease.
| Metric / Indicator | Reported Figure | Context / Source Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Regulatory Penalty | Up to 10% of annual turnover | Statutory cap under Polish competition law (UOKiK) |
| Google Poland 2025 Revenue | 1.84 bln PLN | Financial performance data |
| Local Licensing Reach | Over 20 publishers / dozens of sites | Google Poland public response data |
| PAP Content Share Coverage | Approx. 60% of Polish news content | Google’s stated metrics for the Polish Press Agency |
Google Highlights Licensing Agreements with European News Outlets
Responding through its corporate communications channel, Google Poland emphasized that it maintains a structured, large-scale remuneration model for news publishers that mirrors methodologies applied across other European Union member states. The firm stated that it has established active licensing agreements with over 5,500 European news outlets, including more than 70 Polish websites, and that it has secured agreements across 26 European Union member states.
According to figures provided by Google, the company has secured direct agreements with more than 20 domestic publishers covering multiple informational properties, noting that Since the implementation of the EU copyright directive in Poland, we have engaged in negotiations with Polish publishers and are actively concluding licensing agreements, guided by the same principles and methodology that we already apply in other European countries
. This tier includes the Polish Press Agency (PAP), which reportedly accounts for approximately 60% of domestic news content. Google maintains that all concluded agreements rely on objective criteria, factoring in display frequency and contextual advertising revenue generated alongside content previews. Google Poland’s press office conveyed that the company is the only platform to implement a structured news publisher remuneration model on a large scale, adding that Google is the only platform applying a structured approach to remunerating news publishers on a large scale
and As a result, we have signed agreements with over 20 publishers, covering several dozen news services. Among them is, for example, the agreement with PAP, which accounts for about 60 percent of news content in Poland
.
Broader European Regulatory Headwinds for Big Tech
The proceedings against Alphabet form part of a broader European enforcement wave directed at major technology conglomerates. Alongside the Polish investigation into Google, regulatory authorities across the continent continue to monitor platform operations.
With UOKiK continuing its antimonopoly review across the four named corporate entities, the resolution of the dispute remains tied to whether structural concessions or revised compensation formulas will satisfy Polish competition guidelines before financial penalties are formally assessed. Under current provisions, if the parties fail to reach an agreement, the President of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) may determine the compensation amount.
