Meta Suffers Legal Defeat in French News Payment Fight

A Paris court has ordered Meta to negotiate over a dispute regarding paying for news content, as French publishers have not received payments since the start of 2025.Meta ‌Platforms lost its ‌case in the Paris Court of Appeals over interim measures imposed by French regulators on media organizations’ ⁠publishing rights, the court said on Thursday.“The ‌court ⁠concluded that Meta’s practices, ‌specifically regarding the methods used ​to determine the ​amounts payable as ‘neighboring ​rights’ to press publishers, may ⁠constitute an abuse of a dominant position, which ​is prohibited ⁠under both European and ​French ​competition ‌law,” the court said in a statement.Under European Union law, print media are allowed to seek payment for the digital use of their content, and ​France wants to strictly enforce the rules.The dispute centers on so-called neighbouring rights, introduced under a 2019 EU copyright directive and incorporated into French law that year.The legislation gives news publishers rights over certain uses of their content by digital platforms, providing a basis for negotiating payments.In July, France’s competition watchdog imposed measures following complaints from two media organisations.The French Society for Related Rights of the Press (DVP) and the French Alliance of General News Media (APIG) accused Facebook’s owner of trying to dictate how much publishers should be paid for the reuse of content on its services.They also claimed that Meta withheld information so the publishers couldn’t assess its payment offers.DVP represents 920 French press publications and more than 60 news agencies.Created in 2021, the nonprofit cooperative acts on behalf of major French publications, such as Agence France-Presse, to lobby and secure fair payment for the digital distribution of their journalistic content.APIG is a French newspaper publishers’ trade association representing more than 300 national, regional and local news publications.The French Competition Authority said that Meta’s previous agreements with DVP and APIG covered payments until December 2024 and January 2025, respectively.However, negotiations over new agreements failed, leaving members of both organizations without further payments.The regulator said the practices employed by Meta were likely to “cause serious and immediate harm to the press sector” and the interests of the complainants.It ordered the big tech company to resume negotiations in “good faith” and provide the necessary information within 15 days.It also ordered Meta not to worsen how publishers’ content appears on Facebook, Instagram and its other services while negotiations over payments are ongoing.On Sept. 16, Meta rejected the regulator’s claims, arguing it had “always negotiated in good faith” with both APIG and DVP and it had already concluded agreements with each, on terms appropriate for them.Mark Zuckerberg’s company said it did offer extensions to ensure that neither organization suffered from interruptions in payments while negotiating.However, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the competition regulator’s orders against Meta.According to an Oct. 29 statement by Gide, the law firm representing DVP, the court found that Meta’s practices are “liable to constitute an abuse of a dominant position.”It said that the court further “confirmed the serious and immediate nature of the harm caused to the press sector and to DVP’s members.”In addition, it found that Meta’s practices are “the direct and certain cause of publishers’ inability to assess fair remuneration and the use of their content and, consequently, to monetize their neighboring rights.”The judges ordered the company to pay DVP 40,000 euros ($44,700) toward its legal costs, as well as court costs.A ⁠Meta spokesperson said the tech company was disappointed by the ruling.“We are assessing next steps but will continue to comply with ​the interim measures and negotiate in good faith, and hope ​the publishers ⁠will do the same,” the spokesperson said.“DVP will continue to vigorously defend the interests of its members before the Competition Authority and in negotiations with Meta,” DVP Chairman of the Board Jean-Marie Cavada said in an Oct. 29 statement.“More broadly, it will continue working to ensure that the neighbouring rights of the press are fully respected by all digital platforms.”Reuters contributed to this report.