Every time someone scrolls through Facebook and sees a news headline, Meta profits. Europe’s top court has now ruled that publishers deserve a cut. The decision reaches far beyond Italy, where the case began, and could force tech platforms across the EU to open their wallets.
The case centres on a dispute between Meta Platforms Ireland and Italy’s AGCOM. The Italian regulator had required Meta, which runs Facebook and Instagram, to pay publishers for displaying excerpts of their articles. Meta challenged the regulation, arguing that EU copyright law imposed no such obligation on platforms.
The Luxembourg court disagreed. It found that a right to fair compensation is compatible with EU law, provided it represents genuine consideration for authorising the online use of press publications. Publishers must also retain the right to refuse authorisation or to grant it free of charge, the court added.
Data, negotiations, and new rules
The ruling addresses the balance of power between publishers and platforms directly. Italy’s AGCOM can now set remuneration criteria and step in to resolve disputes when parties fail to reach an agreement.
Platforms must provide publishers with the data needed to calculate fair compensation. The sum is not a fixed rate but a figure derived from metrics such as views, clicks, and advertising revenues, which only tech companies currently hold. During negotiations, platforms may not restrict the visibility of press publications, a safeguard against using algorithmic demotion as a bargaining chip.
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The ruling has limits. It does not apply to platforms that merely link to articles without displaying their content. Publishers cannot claim compensation for simple hyperlinking.
Meta said it would “review the decision in full and engage constructively” as the matter returns to the Italian courts. The company has argued that the Italian approach creates legal uncertainty and conflicts with EU copyright harmonisation.
A blueprint for the rest of Europe
The judgment carries weight beyond Italy. Belgium faces a similar dispute and its Constitutional Court referred comparable questions to the CJEU in September 2024. Tuesday’s ruling effectively answers those questions too and could prompt member states to strengthen their own implementations of Article 15 of the Digital Single Market Directive.
The timing is significant. In March 2026, the CJEU held its first hearing on generative AI and copyright, in a case brought by Hungarian publisher Like Company against Google. Publishers there argue that AI systems trained on their content should also trigger compensation. Tuesday’s ruling strengthens their hand.
This ruling will pave the way for fairer negotiations with gatekeepers which have been abusing their dominance by refusing to negotiate in good faith. — Angela Mills Wade, executive director, European Publishers Council
The European Publishers Council welcomed the decision. Angela Mills Wade, its executive director, said the ruling would “pave the way for fairer negotiations with gatekeepers which have been abusing their dominance by refusing to negotiate in good faith”. Quality journalism, she added, depends on publishers’ ability to recoup the investments required to produce trusted news.
