Meta ordered to play fair with French news outlets in ongoing royalty case

The Paris Court of Appeal found the tech giant must share information about story usage, clicks and revenue when negotiating with publishers.PARIS (CN) — The Paris Court of Appeal rejected Meta’s appeals Thursday over interim measures imposed by the French Competition Authority, meaning the tech giant will have to be more transparent and calculate fair rates for using publishers’ material.The competition authority found on July 8 the tech giant was likely abusing its dominant market position by “imposing unfair trading conditions” and “circumventing the law on neighboring rights” at the expense of press publishers.With those measures upheld, Meta will have to negotiate press royalties in good faith — sharing more data about the clicks, viewers and profits news articles generate to ensure a fair agreement.“The transparency conditions required for the determination of a fair price did not appear to be met,” the Paris Court of Appeal said in a statement Thursday.The full ruling was not immediately available.Brad Spitz, a lawyer and associate professor at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines who has been following the case, said he was not surprised by the ruling.“First, it was already the [result] of another case with Google, so we already have an example,” he said. “And I’m not surprised because from a legal perspective, it seems quite obvious to me, because there’s an abuse of a dominant position and transparency is absolutely necessary if you want to be able to negotiate.”The Court of Appeal of Paris on July 7, 2026. (Lily Radziemski/Courthouse News)The case is rooted in neighboring rights, introduced in 2019 by the European Copyright Directive. Spitz explained the framework works a bit like copyright; it empowers media outlets to seek compensation for content circulating through online platforms.The exact amount is determined through negotiations between the platforms and the outlets themselves, not established by the government. But under French law, the amount has to reflect the diverse investments publishers make to produce a story. Media outlets also need to how much platforms benefit from their work.“The determination of the amount of this remuneration takes into account elements such as the human, material and financial investments made by publishers and press agencies, the contribution of press publications to political and general information and the importance of their use by online public communication services,” the Court of Appeal of Paris said in its statement.In 2024, Meta failed to reach an agreement on royalties with the Alliance of the General Information Press, or APIG, and Press Neighboring Rights, or DVP, the plaintiffs in the case.“Meta decided, ‘Well, we don’t have any contracts anymore, so we’re not paying,’” Spitz said.The plaintiffs each brought a case to the French Competition Authority, which imposed interim measures against Meta, citing “serious and immediate harm to the press sector” while it continues to investigate the merits of both cases.Interim measures include negotiating remuneration in good faith, communicating “certain information relating to the turnover of its various social networks and to the exploitation of protected content,” and to not “degrade the display conditions of press content.”Data to share could include article clicks, engagement numbers or how much profit ads generate.Meta appealed the decision. Now, it will have to abide by these measures as the authority continues to investigate.“So theoretically, we’re going to have a contract soon and payment is going to have to be made,” Spitz said. “And the [investigation] is going to continue on the merits, to know whether there’s a breach of competition law, and that will be the main issue.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads