In a decisive move to protect the integrity of the press sector, the Competition Authority has issued interim measures against Meta, ordering the tech giant to resume negotiations regarding neighboring rights in good faith. Triggered by complaints from the Society of Neighboring Rights of the Press (DVP) and the Alliance of General Information Press (APIG), the regulatory body stepped in following a breakdown in talks over how publishers and news agencies should be compensated for their content.
The dispute stems from a 2019 law designed to create a balanced value-sharing mechanism between digital platforms and news creators. While initial compensation agreements ran smoothly through late 2024 and early 2025, subsequent negotiation rounds collapsed. The plaintiffs accused Meta of attempting to dictate its own valuation methodology while simultaneously withholding the essential traffic and revenue data required to objectively assess those proposals. As a result, publishers have been left uncompensated for months, even as their journalism continues to populate Meta’s platforms.
The Authority determined that Meta likely holds a dominant position in the social networking market, primarily due to Facebook’s massive user base. It further concluded that Meta’s current negotiating practices likely amount to an abuse of this dominant position. By imposing unfair transaction conditions, ignoring alternative calculation methods, and restricting discussions strictly to user-shared content on Facebook, Meta effectively circumvented the spirit of the law and exacerbated a profound information asymmetry.
To prevent serious and immediate financial harm to an already precarious press sector, the Authority has implemented strict interim injunctions that will remain active until a final decision is reached. Meta is now required to transparently and objectively negotiate compensation backdated to the start of 2025. Crucially, the tech giant must hand over all necessary data for evaluating remuneration within fifteen days. To ensure fairness during this period, Meta is forbidden from degrading how news content is displayed across its services and must submit regular compliance reports to the regulator.