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French Watchdog Orders Meta to Resume Negotiations with Media Over Content Fees
France’s competition authority on Wednesday ordered Meta Platforms to resume talks with French media associations and put forward a payment plan for the use of their content. The ruling gives the owner of Facebook and Instagram 15 days to provide details of its payment proposal to the media groups, which include prominent newspapers like Le Monde.
The complaint was filed by media associations DVP and APIG, who alleged that Meta abused its dominant market position. They claim the tech company attempted to impose its own method for calculating remuneration while refusing to provide the information needed for publishers to properly evaluate the fees owed. A previous agreement between the parties expired in 2024, and negotiations for a new one have been unsuccessful.
At the center of the dispute are the European Union's "neighbouring rights," a directive that allows print media to seek payment when their content is used by online platforms. The French authority stated that the lack of payments since the start of 2025 has caused financial harm to the media groups, even as their content continues to be distributed on Meta's services.
AdIn its decision, the watchdog said it did not set a provisional amount for the unpaid fees, stating it did not want to influence the negotiation with a figure it determined. The authority's president, Benoit Coeure, noted that setting a specific amount could have created an unhelpful focal point for the talks.
In a statement, Meta said it disagreed with the competition authority’s decision but would engage with the process. The company expressed its commitment to reaching a fair deal and hoped the ruling would lead to good-faith negotiations from the publishers. Conversely, the media rights group DVP said it was satisfied with the decision and welcomed the renewed talks.