Background
      
            

Following a complaint filed by the French Society for Related Rights of the Press (Société des droits voisins de la presse – DVP) and the French Alliance of General News Media (Alliance de la presse d’information générale – APIG) regarding practices employed by Meta during negotiations on the remuneration of related rights for their members’ press content, the Autorité de la concurrence has ordered interim measures.



In particular, the complainants accuse Meta of attempting to impose its own method for calculating the remuneration to be paid for the re-use of their content on its services, while refusing to provide the complainants with the information necessary to objectively assess its remuneration offers. 



In the view of the Autorité, the practices employed by Meta are likely to constitute an abuse of dominant position and cause serious and immediate harm to the press sector and the interests of the complainants.



Accordingly, the Autorité has ordered Meta to resume negotiations with DVP and APIG in good faith and, in particular, to provide the complainants with the information necessary to assess its remuneration offers within 15 days. 
      
      

                
          
        
            The negotiations between Meta and press agencies and publishers 



The French law of 24 July 2019 creating a related right for press agencies and publishers, which transposed into French law the EU directive of 17 April 2019, aimed to establish the conditions for balanced negotiations on value sharing between press agencies, publishers and digital platforms (hereinafter the “Law on Related Rights”).



Following the introduction of the Law on Related Rights, Meta held negotiations with both APIG (a French trade association representing the interests of the general-interest press) and DVP (French a collective management organisation dedicated to protecting the related rights of press agencies and publishers), leading to the conclusion of two agreements providing remuneration for the related rights of APIG and DVP members, signed in December 2021 and June 2024 respectively. The remuneration negotiated covered the use, by Meta, of content from press agencies and publishers on its services, from the entry into force of the Law on Related Rights until 31 December 2024, for DVP members, and 31 January 2025, for APIG members. 



A new round of negotiations, starting in 2024, between Meta and APIG, on the one hand, and DVP, on the other, was unsuccessful, with no agreement reached on the amount of remuneration to be paid, the scope of uses covered by related rights or the Meta services concerned. Since the expiry of the initial agreements, APIG and DVP members have not therefore received any remuneration from Meta for their related rights. 



 

The Autorité considers that Meta’s practices are likely to constitute an abuse of dominant position 



 



At this stage of the investigation, the Autorité considers that Meta is likely to hold a dominant position in the market for personal social networking services (including hybrid platforms). This assessment is primarily based on the size of Facebook’s user base, which is significantly larger than that of any of its competitors, and the capacity of Meta’s platforms to meet a particularly wide range of user needs and uses.



In the view of the Autorité, the practices reported by the complainants are likely to constitute an abuse of dominant position on several grounds: 


	Imposition of unfair trading conditions




Firstly, Meta may have imposed unfair trading conditions on press agencies and publishers by attempting to impose its own evaluation methodology, without taking into account alternative methods proposed by APIG and DVP. Furthermore, the Autorité highlights that Meta’s decision to exclude, as a matter of principle, all of Meta’s services distributing news content, with the exception of content posted by users on Facebook, from the scope of negotiations could undermine the provisions of the Law on Related Rights. 


	Circumvention of the law




Secondly, Meta may have circumvented the Law on Related Rights, in particular by refusing to provide press agencies and publishers with the information necessary for an informed discussion, or by providing such information late and in an inadequate format, thereby frustrating the legislator’s objective of rebalancing negotiations. The information asymmetry between the parties is exacerbated by the failure to disclose to press agencies and publishers the revenue generated from the use of their content, as well as the actual ways in which that content is used. 



 

The practices pose a serious and immediate threat to the press sector and justify interim measures 



In the view of the Autorité, the failure to pay remuneration for related rights since the beginning of 2025 has caused financial harm to DVP and APIG members, despite their news content continuing to be distributed on Meta’s services. In this regard, Meta’s practices may exacerbate the precarious situation faced by a large number of press agencies and publishers, who are deprived of the resources essential for sustaining their operations and maintaining the quality of information.
      
      
      

                
        
      
      
            The injunctions issued
      
      
            

- Negotiate in good faith with press agencies and publishers based on transparent, objective and non-discriminatory criteria. The negotiations must cover the period of content re-use from the beginning of 2025.



- Provide, within 15 days, the information necessary for the parties to successfully conduct the negotiations (the decisions specify the information to be provided by Meta).



- Refrain from altering the terms governing the display of content from APIG and DVP members on any of Meta’s online services throughout the negotiation period.



- Submit regular reports to the Autorité on Meta’s compliance with the injunctions. 
      
    
      

                
          
        
            

Given the potentially anticompetitive nature of the reported practices and the serious and immediate harm to the press sector in particular, the Autorité considers it necessary for the injunctions to remain in effect pending its decision on the merits. This could be reconsidered, in particular in the event of a legislative change affecting the implementation of the Law on Related Rights.
      
      
      

                
          
        
          
            Decision 26-MC-01 of 8 July 2026
      
          
            on a request for interim measures by Alliance de la presse de l’information (APIG)
      
        
                  
            
            The full text of the decision (in French) will be available soon
      
          
              
      

                
          
        
          
            Decision 26-MC-02 of 8 July 2026
      
          
            on a request for interim measures by Société des droits voisins de la presse (DVP)
      
        
                  
            
            The full text of the decision (in French) will be available soon
      
          
              
      

                
          
        
            Presentation slides
      
        
          


            See the press conference slides
      


        
        
          Download - PDF - 1 295.04 ko
        
      
      

                
          
  
    Contact(s)
          
                
          
              
          
        
              


      
      
      
  
    
      
            Nicola Crawford
      
      
            Communications Officer
      
    
    
      
            +33155040151
      
      
     Contact us by e-mail

French Competition Authority Orders Meta to Negotiate Fairly with Press Agencies

The French competition authority, Autorité de la concurrence, has taken action against Meta following complaints from the French Society for Related Rights of the Press (DVP) and the French Alliance of General News Media (APIG). The complaints allege that Meta has been imposing unfair conditions during negotiations over the remuneration for the use of press content, which could constitute an abuse of its dominant position.

Meta is accused of attempting to dictate its own method for calculating remuneration while withholding necessary information from the complainants, which is essential for them to evaluate Meta's offers. The Autorité has determined that these practices could cause significant harm to the press sector and have ordered Meta to resume negotiations with DVP and APIG in good faith.

Under the Law on Related Rights, which aims to ensure fair negotiations between press agencies and digital platforms, Meta had previously reached agreements with APIG and DVP. However, recent negotiations have failed, leaving press agencies without remuneration for their content since the beginning of 2025. The Autorité's interim measures require Meta to provide necessary information for negotiations and to refrain from altering the terms of content display during this period.

The Autorité has emphasized the urgency of the situation, citing the financial harm to press agencies and the potential threat to the quality of information available to the public. The injunctions will remain in effect until a final decision is made regarding the merits of the case.



French Competition Authority Orders Meta to Negotiate Fairly with Press Agencies

The French competition authority has imposed interim measures on Meta, requiring the company to negotiate in good faith with press agencies regarding remuneration for the use of their content.