Meta Platforms on Tuesday lost its fight against an Italian regulatory order that it should compensate publishers for using snippets of their news articles after Europe's top court sided with the Italian telecoms watchdog.
The case underscores the ongoing copyright battle between publishers and creators and tech companies over the use of newspaper articles or authors' work for AI training that have triggered litigation against companies including Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic for infringement.
"The Court finds that a right to fair compensation for publishers is consistent with EU law, provided that that remuneration constitutes consideration for authorising their publications to be used online," said the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The case came before the Court after Meta challenged the Italian communications authority AGCOM's power to set the compensation that online platforms should pay for using press articles.
Meta argued that such national measures are incompatible with rights already granted to publishers under EU copyright legislation. An Italian court subsequently sought guidance from the CJEU.
"We will review the decision in full and engage constructively as the matter returns to the Italian courts," said a Meta company spokesperson.
The European Publishers Council said the court ruling was good for the journalism and news industries.
"This important ruling will pave the way for fairer negotiations with gatekeepers which have been abusing their dominance by refusing to negotiate in good faith. Quality journalism depends on the ability of publishers to recoup the investments required to produce trusted news and information," said Angela Mills Wade, executive director at the European Publishers Council.
"The Court has recognised that this objective is not only economically legitimate, but also closely linked to media freedom and pluralism in democratic societies," she added.
The case is C-797/23 Meta Platforms Ireland (Fair compensation).
