UPDATE: European justice validates the right of publishers to “fair remuneration” against Meta
According to recent reports, the following story has emerged from the international scene.
The Court of Justice of the European Union, in Luxembourg, in January 2020. JOHN THYS/AFP The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Italy had the right to require that press publishers receive fair remuneration from online platforms using their content, according to a judgment handed down on Tuesday May 12. Italy had referred the matter to the CJEU following an appeal filed by the American giant Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, against an Italian law on the subject. This law is a transposition into national law of the 2019 European directive on copyright and related rights in the digital single market. “Italian legislation requires service providers to negotiate such remuneration with publishers (…) and to provide the data necessary for its calculation,” recalls the judgment. It was the Italian Communications Supervisory Authority (Agcom) that was entrusted with setting the criteria for this remuneration, which it did in 2023. Read also | Article reserved for our IA subscribers: no proposed copyright law on the agenda of the National Assembly Read later “Publishers find themselves in a weak negotiating position” Meta Platforms Ireland then filed an appeal before the regional administrative court for Lazio in order to have this Agcom decision annulled, considering that the latter as well as Italian legislation went against the freedom of enterprise guaranteed by European law. “The Court judges that a right to fair remuneration for publishers is compatible with Union law, provided that this remuneration constitutes the economic consideration for the authorization to use their publications online” and “that these publishers can refuse to give this authorization or grant it free of charge”, considers the judgment delivered on Tuesday. In addition, “the obligations imposed on suppliers to engage in negotiations with publishers, without restricting the visibility of content during this period, and to provide the data necessary for calculating remuneration are also admissible”, because they are “likely to ensure the fair nature of these negotiations”, adds the Court. This underlines in particular that “publishers find themselves in a weak negotiating position in relation to these suppliers with regard to the determination of fair remuneration”. No immediate reaction from Meta This judgment, by which the CJEU gives, at the request of a member country, its interpretation of Community law or the validity of an EU act, does not resolve the national dispute. “It is up to the national court to resolve the case in accordance with the decision of the Court,” specifies the latter. Also read the column | Article reserved for our subscribers “New AI models violate copyright on a global scale” Read later The European Publishers Council (EPC) described this decision as “crucial”, stressing that it comes at a time when “the uses of journalistic content driven by AI and relayed by platforms are rapidly expanding”. “This important decision will pave the way for fairer negotiations with online platforms that have abused their dominant position by refusing to negotiate in good faith,” Angela Mills Wade, executive director of the EPC, said in a statement. When questioned, Meta did not react immediately. The World with AFP
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Source: This article was originally published in another language by International : Toute l’actualité sur Le Monde.fr. and has been translated and adapted for our global English-speaking audience. Read the original article here.