German lawmakers condemn Google campaign against copyright law

Senior German politicians have denounced as propaganda a campaign by Google to mobilize public opinion against proposed legislation to let publishers charge search engines for displaying newspaper articles.

Internet lobbyists say they are worried the German law will set a precedent for other countries such as France and Italy that have shown an interest in having Google pay publishers for the right to show their news snippets in its search results. Lawmakers in Berlin will debate the bill in the Bundestag (lower house) on Nov 29. Google says the law would make it harder for users to retrieve information via the Internet. Google launched its campaign against the bill on Nov 27 with advertisements in German newspapers and a web information site called "Defend your web".