Key facts
- France's competition authority ordered Meta Platforms to resume negotiations with French media groups over copyright payments.
- The watchdog cited Meta's approach as an abuse of its dominant position and potentially harmful to the press sector.
- Meta must provide a payment plan within 15 days.
- Previous agreements between Meta and French press associations expired in 2024, leading to a halt in compensation.
- The French authority also criticized Meta's exclusion of services like Instagram and Threads from negotiations.
France's competition authority has ordered Meta Platforms to resume negotiations with French press groups over copyright payments, stating the company's approach "caused serious and immediate harm to the press sector" and weakened protections for news content. The order follows complaints from two organisations representing French news publishers, DVP and APIG, that Meta failed to reach new agreements after their previous deals expired in late 2024. The watchdog stated that Meta's practices in calculating fees were likely an abuse of its dominant position and directed the social media giant to present a detailed payment plan within 15 days. The regulator also criticised Meta's decision to exclude most of its services, including Instagram and Threads, from the scope of negotiations, which could weaken France’s neighbouring rights rules. This action is part of a broader trend of legal disputes between media organizations and technology companies over remuneration for content.