The watchdog told Meta to resume talks with French press groups and disclose its payment methodology within 15 days after finding possible abuse of dominance in fee calculations.
France’s competition authority has ordered Meta Platforms to resume negotiations with French media groups over payments for publishing content, after talks collapsed following the expiry in 2024 of an agreement with press associations DVP and APIG. The authority said Meta’s methods for calculating fees were likely to amount to an abuse of its dominant position and instructed the Facebook owner to provide details of its payment plan within 15 days. The dispute falls under the European Union’s neighboring rights regime, which allows print media outlets to seek remuneration for the digital use of their content. Members of DVP and APIG include Les Echos and Le Monde, and the failure to reach a new agreement has left French publishers without payments since the earlier deal expired. Benoit Coeure, president of the antitrust authority, said the issue was not a refusal to negotiate but that the talks were taking place under conditions where Meta would not consider an alternative methodology or share the data needed for that approach. The case is part of a broader confrontation between publishers and technology companies over the use of media content on social platforms and in AI training.