John Adoyi
Several prominent French news organisations, including Le Monde and Courrier International, have dragged X, formerly known as Twitter to a French court accusing the social media platform of reusing their content without paying compensation.
The news outlets argue that X has violated their “neighbouring rights,” a law established in a 2019 European Union directive, which mandates that digital platforms pay newspapers, magazines, and news agencies when they reuse their content.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn a joint statement, the French media companies, claimed that they had previously sought an emergency injunction against X for allegedly refusing to negotiate payment for using their materials. The organisations disclosed that in May, a Paris tribunal ruled in their favour, giving X a two-month deadline to disclose commercial data necessary to evaluate the revenue generated from their content.
According to the platforms, X has yet to comply with this ruling, which they described as “a continued intent to avoid its legal obligations.” This non-compliance has prompted the latest legal action.
The news organisations emphasised that “the revenue from these rights, with the investment that it would enable its beneficiaries to make, is a boost to the plurality, independence, and quality of the media, which are essential for freedom of expression and the right to information in our democratic society.”
READ ALSO: Twitter Starts Ad-sharing Payment To Nigerian Content Creators
This lawsuit adds to a growing list of legal challenges facing X. In recent months, the platform has been under scrutiny for various issues around the world. In August, X faced legal action in Ireland for allegedly using European citizens’ data to train artificial intelligence models. In October, the company was fined $418,000 in Australia for non-cooperation with the child safety regulator. Additionally, in Brazil, X was fined and banned after failing to comply with hate speech moderation orders and not designating a legal representative, as required by law. The European Union is also currently investigating X for potential violations of its digital policies.
X has yet to respond as at the time of filing this report. However, In response to Agence France-Presse’s (AFP) lawsuit in May, which accused X of refusing to pay for content under the same law, Elon Musk took to the platform to push back against the news agency’s claims. Musk questioned AFP’s demand for compensation, tweeting that it was “bizarre” for news organizations to expect payment from platforms like X for content that is freely accessible on the internet.
Musk argued that if news outlets were benefiting from the traffic and exposure generated by X, they should not expect additional payment.
