Spain is making Google (and others) pay news publishers a tax
For companies like Google, facing problems with the law across Europe has become a common thing. The most recent example of this is now taking place in Spain, where the country's parliament just gave the go-ahead to what's being known as the "Google Tax," a set of intellectual property laws that lets news publishers get paid every time their content is linked within search results. Last year, something very similar happened in Germany, and that fight ended recently with Google having to strip down its news service to accommodate the requests of German publishers.
Naturally, Google isn't too happy about the decision from the Spanish parliament, but the search giant expressed that it will be working with news publishers in Spain to find ways to increase income for them. But this isn't only a loss for Google; it's a loss for the internet as a whole, since it allows lawmakers to micromanage content in new ways. In Spain, the new law goes into effect on January 1st, 2015.
If you speak Spanish, our Engadget en español siblings have a great piece on the subject.
