To get digital companies to support reporting, a French news agency filed a copyright lawsuit against social media behemoth Twitter on Wednesday in France.
Media organizations have long maintained that since their news and photographs add value to websites like X, Facebook, and Google, they should receive a portion of the revenue.
Google and Facebook finally agreed to pay some French media sites after their cause was helped by a 2019 EU rule that permitted compensation for sharing content under a system known as “neighboring rights.”
However, AFP has charged Elon Musk’s billionaire company X with a “clear refusal” to engage in conversations on bordering rights. It claimed in a statement that it had filed a lawsuit with a Parisian judge to compel the platform to provide information that would enable a French news agency to calculate an appropriate sum of compensation.
“AFP remains unwavering in its commitment to the cause as a leading advocate for the adoption of neighboring rights for the press,” the statement stated.
The Agency will keep using the proper legal tactics with each relevant platform to make sure that the value created by the sharing of news material is distributed fairly.
Despite certain triumphs for media organizations in France, major digital companies have fiercely resisted in other areas.
This week, Meta prohibited posts from news organizations from appearing on Facebook and Instagram in Canada due to a rule requiring payment for the material.
Google has hinted that it will respond similarly. Similar ideas in Australia were rejected by Meta and Google as well.
The two companies are accused of siphoning money away from established news organizations while exploiting their material for free. They dominate internet advertising. As a much smaller platform, X has not been subjected to as much scrutiny.
