Meta ordered by French regulator to negotiate news publishing fees

France’s competition authority, the Autorité de la concurrence, issued an interim decision requiring Meta Platforms to resume good‑faith negotiations with the French press collectives DVP and APIG. The regulator gave the company 15 days to submit a detailed payment plan for the use of news content on its services, after the previous remuneration agreements expired at the end of 2024 and January 2025. The authority said Meta’s refusal to share data and its proposed valuation method likely constitute an abuse of its dominant position, causing “serious and immediate harm” to the press sector. Meta disputed the finding but said it would participate in further proceedings. The case rests on the EU “neighboring rights” regime introduced by the 2019 Copyright Directive, which obliges online platforms to pay publishers for digital reuse of their material. France has previously fined Google €250 million for similar violations, underscoring the regulator’s willingness to enforce the rules.