Appeal dismissed, Italy is right. In a nutshell, this is what emerges from the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which officially rejected Meta’s appeal with respect to a sensitive issue inherent to publishers. As Reuters reports, the Court of Justice considered as legitimate the order of the Italian regulator (AGCOM) that obliged the social giant to remunerate publishers “for the use of excerpts of their news articles.”
The topic is a thorny one: namely, the issue of copyrights between publishers, creators and tech companies, which also correlates with another current issue in recent years, namely the use of newspaper articles “or authors’ works for training artificial intelligence,” writes Reuters.
The news agency reports the words of the European Court, which is based in Luxembourg, that “the right to fair compensation for publishers” must be in accordance with European Union law, “provided that such remuneration constitutes consideration for permission to use their publications online.”
No dice for Meta, then, which had challenged AGCOM’s decision to define the consent to be given to publishers by tech companies. A decision that an Italian court later referred back to the European Court of Justice, which ruled today, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. A decision that thus opens a new phase in the industry, with Meta said to be willing to cooperate with Italian authorities once the case returns to the Italian courts.
For the time being, the decision of the European judges resonates loudly that the right to remuneration for articles is compatible with EU law, understood as “consideration for authorization to use publications,” writes Repubblica, keeping intact, of course, the autonomy of publishers to define the granting of works for free or to prohibit their use.
[📸 meta.com]
