Neighboring rights: French publishers win against Meta

It is a small victory that French press publishers have just won against the American giant Meta. The Paris Court of Appeal rejected the appeal of the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which contested the precautionary measures imposed last July by the Competition Authority, in the battle between it and publishers over neighboring rights of the press.

Last July, the French regulator ordered Meta to negotiate these related rights “in good faith” with French publishers, considering that the group was causing “serious harm” to the press by not having renewed the neighboring rights agreements entered into with the daily and magazine press since January 1, 2025. The discussions having reached an impasse, the Competition Authority was contacted twice by the Alliance de la presse d'information général (Apig) and by the organization Droits neighboring de la presse (DVP), which are negotiating collective agreements with the tech giants.

The Competition Authority had decided to impose precautionary measures on the American giant, forcing Meta to communicate a certain amount of information to publishers within a deadline to enable them to carry out these negotiations. It is this conservative nature that Meta challenged on appeal. But the Court did not accept its arguments, confirming in full the decision of the Competition Authority in July, including therefore on the precautionary measures.

“This fundamental decision confirms that the related rights of the press must be effective and that digital platforms cannot evade their obligations,” said Jean-Marie Cavada, chairman of the board of directors of DVP. This is an important signal for the financing of information. »

The battle will now continue on the merits. “The confirmation of the precautionary measures is essential: it makes it possible to preserve the conditions for effective negotiation during the continuation of the procedure on the merits before the Competition Authority” specifies Mélanie Loubersac, general director of DVP.

Questioned by Le Figaro, Meta said he was “disappointed” by the rulings of the Paris Court of Appeal. “Despite the legal uncertainty that persists regarding the scope of neighboring rights, we have always engaged constructively with APIG and DVP, and have even offered to extend previous agreements. We are currently considering what to do next, but we will continue to respect the interim measures and negotiate in good faith, and we hope that publishers will do the same. » said a spokesperson on Thursday.