France’s competition authority has ordered Meta to resume negotiations with French press groups regarding copyright payments, highlighting the serious impact of the company’s current practices on the press sector. This order follows complaints from two major organisations representing French publishers, which claim that Meta’s failure to renew agreements has led to a lack of compensation for the reuse of their content.
The issue stems from the European Union’s 2019 Copyright Directive, which allows publishers to seek payment when their content is used by online platforms. Meta’s agreements with French publishers expired recently, leaving many without compensation while their content continues to be displayed on Meta’s platforms.
The Autorité de la concurrence has expressed concerns that Meta’s approach could undermine the protections established by the neighbouring rights rules. The regulator has also noted that Meta’s exclusion of services like Instagram and Threads from negotiations could weaken these protections further.
This situation raises questions about the future of press funding in the digital age, as major platforms profit from distributing journalistic content without adequately compensating the creators. The outcome of these negotiations could set a precedent for how tech companies engage with media organisations across Europe.
Source: Euronews
