Getty files complaint against Google over images

Google is facing yet more pressure from European authorities as photographic agency Getty filed an official complaint against the technology firm.

Google, which is already under pressure from antitrust investigations relating to its Android mobile software, is accused of scraping images from the photography website into its own search galleries, turning users into “accidental pirates”.

The main complaint concerns Google Image Search, which uses search terms to gather and display high-quality images as search results.

Getty said changes made to Image Search in 2013 “promoted piracy” by “creating captivating galleries of high- resolution, copyrighted content”, leaving little reason for consumers to visit the original website. Before the changes, Google only displayed low-resolution thumbnails in its search results.

Monopoly

“Because image consumption is immediate, once an image is displayed in high-resolution, large format, there is little impetus to view the image on the original source site,” Getty said.

“These changes have allowed Google to reinforce its role as the internet’s dominant search engine, maintaining monopoly over site traffic, engagement data and advertising spend. This has also promoted piracy, resulting in widespread copyright infringement, turning users into accidental pirates.”

Getty initially made a submission on the matter in 2015, supporting the European Commission’s investigation into anticompetitive business practices by Google. The image service represents more than 200,000 photojournalists, content creators and artists.

"Google's behaviour is adversely affecting not only our contributors, but the lives and livelihoods of artists around the word – present and future," said Getty Images' general counsel, Yoko Miyashita.

“Artists need to earn a living in order to sustain creativity and licensing is paramount to this; however, this cannot happen if Google is siphoning traffic and creating an environment where it can claim the profits from individuals’ creations as its own,” she added.