Facebook Signs an Agreement with French Publications

The social network Facebook announced an agreement for the payment of rights related to newspapers and the creation of Facebook News in France.

Facebook signed a license agreement with the APIG, Alliance de la presse d’information générale, French publishers group.

Moreover, related rights are a regulation similar to copyright applied in Europe in favor of publishers and press agencies. 

APIG president Pierre Louette stated that with the agreement reached, significant funding will be generated. This is particularly for the publishers of the Alliance, especially for the little ones.

Jesper Doub, a director of partnerships with news media in Europe, said that Facebook users will be able to continue to share news freely within their communities. Meanwhile, the protection of the neighboring rights of our publishing partners will offer assurance. 

Facebook to pay publishers for news content

Another novelty of the pact is the creation of Facebook News in France from next January. It will allow users of the social network in the country to access the content of reliable and reputable sources of information.

The agreement does not include magazines or news agencies. According to the social media platform, Facebook News will kick off in 2022 in the country.

This announcement comes a few weeks after two of the main French newspapers, Le Monde and Le Figaro, announcements. They stated that they had reached agreements on their own with Facebook on the payment of related rights and the use of their content on the social network.

Google also reached an agreement with APIG in January this year, but its application is pending justice.

The French Competition Authority fined the internet giant €500 million in July for failing to negotiate in good faith. The country’s national competition regulator required it to negotiate a different payment, although Google appealed in court.