Getty Images Adds To Google Misery

Google is again into hot water with Getty Images filing a complain against its practices.

Getty Images, a renowned photo agency has filed charges against Alphabet Inc. Getty is requesting the European Commission which is already after Google to look into the company’s malicious practice of regulating the copy righted images without offering any compensation to the owners whatsoever. As per the complaint that was being covered by Reuters, Google is taking undue advantage of it dominance in terms of the search practices. It gives its own images superiority over the work of rivals.

As per Getty Images, the company is facilitating the services of almost 200,000 individuals contributing to the platform by giving almost 100 million images to various publishers, advertisers and websites. This means that those individuals who contribute to Getty are being robbed for their work without getting the due compensation. Jonathan Lockwood, who is the Vice President of Getty Images, stated that it is wrong for any firm who has a dominant hand to take unfair advantage of its power.

He also stated that the solution which Getty has for the search engine giant is that they should remove the High Definition images with a small thumbnail. So once a user clicks on the thumbnail, the user will be directed to the source platform from where they can get permission to use the image or purchase it as per need. This will eventually help in bolstering the traffic at the source site which encompasses Getty Images. This will not hamper the revenue stream of Getty and they can continue to enjoy exposure via Google Searches.

 This will also rightfully divert traffic to the source website, which includes Getty images. This will not disrupt Getty’s revenue stream, and the agency can continue to receive exposure through Google Search.

The CEPIC (Coordination of European Picture Agencies Stock, Press and Heritage) is representing various picture associations in the European market. They have also filed a complaint against Google which resembles to the claims made by Getty. Other than that, News Corp., another venture of The Wall Street Journal has also filed similar charges against GOOG.  Moreover, the European Commission is also investigating against the company for breaching the competition rules. Many analysts believe that Google is bolstering its own revenue stream through its searches and undermining competition. They have also forced various OEMs to preinstall Google apps on the smartphones. This minimizes the chances of users to opt for rival applications. Ironically, Google claims that it has never been against competition and welcomes rivals on its platform.

The numerous complains on the other hand narrate a completely different story. No matter how much the tech giant wishes to defend itself, the odds don’t seem to be in its favor. The European Commission has agreed to look into the issue and considering the organizations previous efforts, they might just build a mountain out of a mole hill. So far nobody knows if the Getty Images will be removed from the company’s search engine or now. However, Getty needs to be ready for  a long rivalry.