Mubasher: Google is planning to pay publishers $1 billion for their news over the coming three years, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing the CEO, Sundar Pichai, as saying.

Google News Showcase will be rolled out first in Germany where the tech giant signed deals with Der Spiegel, Stern, and Die Zeit and in Brazil with Folha de S.Paulo, Band, and Infobae.

The tech firm signed licensing deals with about 200 publishers in Argentina, Australia, Britain, Brazil, Canada, and Germany.

The product will launch on Google News on Android devices and then on Apple devices.

“This approach is distinct from our other news products because it leans on the editorial choices individual publishers make about which stories to show readers and how to present them,” Pichai said.

However, the European Publishers Council did not welcome the project.

“By launching a product, they (Google) can dictate terms and conditions, undermine legislation designed to create conditions for a fair negotiation, while claiming they are helping to fund news production,” EPC Executive Director, Angela Mills Wade, said.