I agree with you that they've handled badly but I don't know how they should have handled it. Anyone got ideas on how they should have handled it?
They could then explain how their content uses excerpts of copyrighted material to direct the curious to the source.
It should have then asked for legislation on what constitutes fair use in this context.
If the government insisted on fees, then they should have asked them why news businesses are more worthy of those fees than individuals.