Gide advises the Société des Droits Voisins de la Presse (DVP) and obtains confirmation of the interim measures imposed by the French Competition Authority against Meta
In a judgment dated October 29, 2026 (case no. 26/12581), the Paris Court of Appeal dismissed all of the grounds for annulment and amendment raised by Meta against decision no. 26-MC-02 of the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) dated July 8, 2026, thereby upholding in full the interim measures imposed against it.
In its decision no. 26-MC-02, the Authority had granted the request for interim measures filed by the Société des Droits Voisins de la Presse (DVP) in connection with the negotiations relating to the remuneration owed by Meta in respect of neighboring rights. DVP is a non-profit collective management organization affiliated with SACEM, bringing together a large part of the press, media and news agency sector.
The Court of Appeal first confirmed that competition law is fully applicable to Meta’s practices in the context of the negotiations relating to neighboring rights, the existence of sector-specific regulation not precluding the application of Article 102 TFEU and Article L. 420-2 of the French Commercial Code.
It also confirmed that, at this stage of the proceedings, Meta’s practices are liable to constitute an abuse of a dominant position, in particular the imposition of unfair trading conditions. The Court pointed in particular to the opacity and incompleteness of the information and methodologies provided by Meta, which are liable to result in remuneration largely disconnected from the actual use of press content and its valuation, and to circumvent the objective of rebalancing negotiations pursued in the area of neighboring rights.
The Court further confirmed the serious and immediate nature of the harm caused to the press sector and to DVP’s members. It found that Meta’s practices are the direct and certain cause of publishers’ inability to assess fair remuneration and the use of their content and, consequently, to monetize their neighboring rights.
Lastly, the Court held that all of the injunctions imposed by the Authority are proportionate, requiring Meta in particular to negotiate in good faith, to provide the information necessary to determine the remuneration, and not to degrade the way in which DVP members’ content is displayed during the negotiations.
Meta was also ordered to pay DVP EUR 40,000 under Article 700 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, as well as the costs.
This decision is part of Gide’s ongoing commitment alongside players in the press sector, which the firm has advised for several years, both in their negotiations with the major platforms and in the litigation that has helped shape the legal framework applicable to neighboring rights in France.
The Gide team was composed of partners Franck Audran and Julien Guinot-Deléry, and associates Eléonore Denis, Lucie Portier and Robin Genest.
