French antitrust watchdog orders Meta to resume talks with media groups over publishing fees

France's competition authority on Wednesday ordered Meta Platforms to resume talks with French media groups over payments for publishing content, after the publishers complained following the collapse of previous negotiations.

The case is one of a growing number between ‌publishers and ⁠tech ⁠companies over the use of content published on social media or used for AI training that have triggered litigation.

The French authority said it found the practices employed by Meta in its methods of calculating fees were likely to constitute an abuse of its dominant ⁠position, and ‌it ordered the Facebook owner to put forward details of its payment plan within 15 ⁠days.


In the European Union, "neighbouring rights" allow print media outlets to seek remuneration for the digital use of their content.

A previous agreement between Meta and press associations DVP and APIG, whose members include the newspapers Les Echos and Le Monde, expired in 2024 and the two sides have since ‌failed to agree on the amount due, meaning the French media have received no payments.

"We are not dealing with ⁠a situation where there is a refusal to negotiate. Rather, the negotiation is taking place under conditions where there is a refusal to consider an alternative methodology or to share the data required for that alternative methodology," Benoit Coeure, president of the antitrust authority, told reporters.