Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 10, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleAn EU court adviser supports Italy in a dispute with Meta over publisher fees, emphasizing fair revenue sharing and contractual freedom.
By Bart H. Meijer and Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -EU member states have the right to impose their own measures to strengthen the position of publishers in their dealings with large online platforms as long as these do not undermine freedom of contract, an adviser to the EU's highest court said on Thursday.
The European Union's Court of Justice (CJEU) is handling a dispute between Facebook owner Meta and the Italian communications authority AGCOM, over a fee the U.S. tech giant has to pay publishers in Italy for using snippets of their news articles.
Meta had questioned whether such national measures are compatible with rights already granted to publishers under the EU copyright legislation.
But CJEU Advocate General Maciej Szpunar said the rights the EU had intended to give to publishers went beyond only allowing them to oppose the use of their material if they were not paid for them.
"Their purpose is to establish the conditions under which those publications are actually used, while allowing publishers to receive a fair share of the revenues derived by platforms from that use," he said.
"The limitations introduced pursue a public interest recognised by the EU legislature: strengthening the economic viability of the press, a key pillar of democracy."
Meta said it would await the court's final decision, but added it believed that the Italian implementation of the directive undermined copyright harmonization across Europe.
"This case highlights the need for consistent legislation, as fragmentation stifles innovation and creates uncertainty," a Meta spokesperson said.
In his opinion, Szpunar said the Italian regulator should keep in mind contractual freedom.
"The powers conferred on AGCOM – including the definition of benchmark criteria for determining remuneration, the resolution of disagreements and the monitoring of the obligation to provide information – are permissible if they are limited to assistance and do not deprive the parties of their contractual freedom," he said.
The court, which usually follows the majority of recommendations by the advocate-general, will rule in the coming months.
The case is C-797/23 Meta Platforms Ireland (Fair compensation).
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Bart MeijerEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
The dispute centers around whether national measures imposed by Italy on Meta for compensating publishers are compatible with existing EU copyright legislation.
Szpunar indicated that the rights intended for publishers extend beyond just opposing the use of their material without payment, aiming to ensure they receive a fair share of revenues from platforms.
Meta believes that the Italian implementation undermines copyright harmonization across Europe and emphasizes the need for consistent legislation to avoid fragmentation.
The Advocate General highlighted that the limitations introduced serve a public interest recognized by the EU legislature, which is to strengthen the economic viability of the press as a key pillar of democracy.
The court, which typically follows the advocate-general's recommendations, is expected to rule on the case in the coming months.
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