Paris: Meta Platforms has suffered another major legal setback in Europe after losing its challenge against an Italian regulatory order requiring compensation to news publishers for the use of article snippets online.
The ruling marks the latest chapter in the growing global conflict between major technology companies and news publishers over copyright, content usage and revenue sharing.
The Court of Justice of the European Union recently sided with Italy’s telecom regulator, reinforcing the principle that digital platforms may be required to compensate publishers when using portions of journalistic content.
European court backs Italian regulator
The dispute centred around Meta’s opposition to an order issued by the Italian telecoms watchdog directing the company to negotiate compensation for using excerpts and snippets from news articles.
The European court’s decision effectively strengthens the legal standing of publishers seeking payment from technology platforms for displaying or sourcing their content online.
The case is being viewed as another significant legal defeat for Meta after an adviser to the European Union’s top court had earlier supported the Italian regulator’s position in 2025.
The latest ruling further intensifies regulatory pressure on global technology firms operating across Europe.
Copyright disputes involving AI and digital platforms grow
The legal conflict also reflects a wider international debate over how technology companies use copyrighted news content, particularly in relation to artificial intelligence systems and digital content aggregation.
Several publishers and authors globally have raised concerns that technology companies use journalistic material for AI model training and online content services without adequate compensation.
This has resulted in legal action and regulatory scrutiny involving companies including OpenAI and Anthropic.
The issue has become increasingly important as AI systems rely heavily on large volumes of publicly available online content.
Google also faced multiple legal setbacks
Google has also encountered repeated legal and regulatory challenges across Europe over publisher compensation disputes.
In April 2020, French regulators ordered Google to negotiate payments with publishers under European Union copyright rules after allegations that the company abused its dominant market position by refusing to pay for displaying news snippets in search results.
The French regulator directed Google to begin negotiations with publishers within three months whenever requested.
In July 2021, France’s competition authority imposed a fine of approximately $593 million on Google for failing to negotiate “in good faith” with publishers regarding compensation for content usage.
The company later dropped its appeal in June 2022 and accepted both the fine and related settlement commitments with French publishers.
AI training concerns trigger further penalties
The legal pressure on Google intensified again in March 2024 when French authorities fined Alphabet Inc., Google LLC, Google Ireland Ltd and Google France around $272 million.
The penalty reportedly related to breaches involving publisher payment commitments and the use of media content to train the AI model Gemini.
European regulators have increasingly focused on ensuring that AI development and digital platform operations comply with copyright obligations and fair competition standards.
India considering revenue-sharing framework
The debate over compensation for digital news content has also gained momentum in India.
Indian digital publishers have been demanding legislation requiring technology platforms, particularly Google and Meta, to enter into revenue-sharing agreements with news organisations.
Media groups have expressed concerns over declining advertising revenues and what they describe as an uneven digital ecosystem dominated by large technology companies.
The Indian government is reportedly examining proposals for a potential legal framework to ensure fair compensation for local journalism and digital news content.
Meanwhile, Australia continues to maintain its News Media Bargaining Code framework, under which major technology firms negotiate commercial agreements with publishers.
Industry observers believe the growing number of court rulings and regulatory actions worldwide could reshape how digital platforms interact with publishers and compensate creators for journalistic content in the future.