France’s competition watchdog has accused Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, of causing “serious and immediate harm” to French media by failing to compensate publishers for news content shared on its platforms.
The regulator ordered the US technology giant to begin negotiations with major French newspapers and media publishers over so-called neighbouring rights, which are payments required under a 2019 European directive incorporated into French law when online platforms republish news content.
Two industry groups, APIG and DVP, representing hundreds of French media outlets, filed complaints after alleging that Meta failed to renew neighbouring rights agreements.
The competition authority said Meta’s conduct was likely to constitute an abuse of a dominant market position and had caused significant harm to the French press sector.
The issue of neighbouring rights has been a longstanding source of tension between French media organisations and major technology companies. Agreements on these payments were reached with Meta in 2021 and with Google in 2022, including both framework agreements and individual arrangements.
In 2024, France’s competition authority fined Google €250 million, alleging that the company had failed to meet some of its commitments under the neighbouring rights framework.
Meta also criticised proposed legislation in Australia that would require major technology companies to compensate local publishers for news content shared on their platforms.
