Paresh David

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:) will start paying Agence France-Presse to publish its news content under a five-year agreement announced Wednesday. It is one of the most significant licensing agreements made by a tech titan in France since a new French law.

Online aggregators like Google and Facebook have lost a lot of ad revenue from news organizations. For years, they have complained about tech companies using search results stories or other features for no payment.

Public pressure and media lobbying have given publishers more power, which has resulted in a host of global licensing deals worth billions.

The AFP accord follows France enacting a copyright law that creates “neighboring rights,” requiring big tech companies to open talks with news publishers that want a licensing payment.

Google refused to reveal the terms of this deal but said it would be for five year. They also agreed to collaborate in projects like fact-checking, according to a joint press release.

“This agreement is a recognition of the value of information,” Fabrice Fries, Agence France-Presse’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Google paid $76 million to 121 French news publications over the course of three years earlier this year, Reuters reported. The deal was put on hold pending the result of an antitrust investigation in France, where the competition regulator accused Google of not being able to negotiate in good faith.

Sébastien Missoffe, managing director of Google France, said the AFP deal showed the tech company’s “willingness to find common ground with publishers.”

The agreement does not include AFP in News Showcase. This feature, which Google introduced last year and promotes content by over 1000 publishers who have paid a fee to license it, is not part of the deal.

Reuters signed a News Showcase agreement https://www.reuters.com/article/rpb-googlenewsshowcase/reuters-becomes-first-global-news-provider-to-offer-content-on-google-news-showcase-idINKBN29Q2SV with Google in January, and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp (NASDAQ:) closed a similar deal a month later.

Facebook signed last month a neighboring rights agreement with an alliance of French publishers, including Le Figaro.