EU's top court adviser sides with Italy in Meta Platforms dispute
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."
However 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)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Malaysia maintains 2025 growth forecast despite global uncertainties, says Tengku Zafrul in interview
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will maintain its 2025 growth forecast of 4% to 4.8% despite global uncertainties, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz told CNBC's Squawk Box Asia on Monday (Aug 18). The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister told interviewer Martin Soong that the Malaysian economy grew 4.4% in the first half, though the second half will be more challenging. Tengku Zafrul stressed that Malaysia will not retaliate against US tariffs, calling the US both Malaysia's largest export market and top investor. 'We can't afford to retaliate as what's important is to engage,' he said. On semiconductors, which make up 60% of Malaysia's exports to the US, the minister said the sector supports about 100,000 direct jobs. He added that Malaysia has trained 15,000 engineers under its National Semiconductor Strategy, targeting 60,000 by 2030. Despite tariff uncertainty slowing some new projects, long-term investment interest remains strong. On rare earths, he confirmed Malaysia has banned raw exports, requiring all mining to go through local processing and downstream activities. Both US and China-linked companies are welcome to invest under this policy, provided Malaysia remains neutral and consistent. Tengku Zafrul also revealed that Malaysia has concluded a free trade agreement with South Korea, to be signed later this year. Negotiations with the EU, GCC, India and an upgraded Asean-China FTA are also ongoing, with a focus on digital and green trade. He said Malaysia has tightened rules on transshipment by requiring Certificates of Origin to be issued directly by the government, in order to prevent tariff circumvention. The minister stressed that Malaysia's priority is to stay neutral and consistent in its trade policies, while focusing on supply chain security and resilience to keep the country central in global technology and resources industries.
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Singapore key exports slip in July as US shipments tumble 42.7 pct
SINGAPORE: Singapore's non-oil domestic exports slipped 4.6 per cent in July from a year earlier, government data showed Monday, as shipments to the United States plunged by more than 40 per cent. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy is heavily reliant on international trade and is vulnerable to any global slowdown induced by the tariffs – even if Singapore only faces a baseline 10 per cent levy from US President Donald Trump. On August 6, Trump announced a 100 per cent tariff on chips from firms that do not invest in the United States, and threatened levies of up to 250 per cent on pharmaceutical imports. The 42.7 per cent July contraction in main exports to the US – Singapore's biggest market – was largely caused by a 93.5 per cent decline in pharmaceutical shipments, the government body Enterprise Singapore said on Monday. Meanwhile, exports of specialised machinery dropped 45.8 per cent and food preparations were down 48.8 per cent. Non-oil domestic shipments to China and Indonesia also declined in July, but grew to the EU, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. The city-state last Tuesday raised its 2025 economic growth forecast, but warned the outlook for the rest of the year remains clouded by global uncertainty, in part due to US tariffs. The trade ministry lifted its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 1.5-2.5 per cent from an earlier range of 0-2.0 per cent. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Sunday said that he took "little comfort" from the 10 per cent baseline tariff rate the US imposed on Singapore. "Because no one knows if, or when, the US might raise the baseline, or set higher tariffs on specific industries like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors," he said in a National Day speech.
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Air Canada grounded as striking union defies order to get back to work
MONTREAL: Air Canada's fleet of hundreds of planes remained grounded on Monday morning after striking flight attendants refused a government-backed order to get back to work and called on the airline to return to the bargaining table. The carrier, which normally carries 130,000 people daily and is part of the global Star Alliance of airlines, had planned to start ramping up operations on Sunday evening, after a labor relations board ordered the union to return to work and start binding arbitration. The union said no, setting up an almost unprecedented standoff with the Canadian government, which had requested the back-to-work order. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 10,000 Air Canada cabin crew, had pushed for a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline. The attendants are striking for better wages and to be paid for work on the ground, such as boarding passengers. They currently are only paid when planes are moving, sparking some vocal support from Canadians on social media. CUPE invited Air Canada back to the table to "negotiate a fair deal," calling the order to end its strike unconstitutional. The airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening and described the union as illegally defying the labor board. The government's options to end the strike now include asking courts to enforce the order to return to work and seeking an expedited hearing. The minority government could also try to pass legislation that would need the support of political rivals and approval in both houses of parliament, which are on break until September 15. "The government will be very reticent to be too heavy-handed because in Canada the Supreme Court has ruled that governments have to be very careful when they take away the right to strike, even for public sector workers that may be deemed essential," said Dionne Pohler, professor of dispute resolution at Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School. Another option is to encourage bargaining, Pohler said. The government did not respond to requests for comment. On Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government moved to end the strike by asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order binding arbitration. The CIRB issued the order, which Air Canada had sought, and unionized flight attendants opposed. The previous government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy, but it is highly unusual for a union to defy a CIRB order. The CUPE said its rejection was unprecedented when such an order was made according to rules, known as Section 107, that the government invoked in this case. Travelers at Toronto Pearson International Airport over the weekend said they were confused and frustrated about when they would be able to fly. Italian Francesca Tondini, 50, sitting at the Toronto airport, said she supported the union even though she had no idea when she would be able to return home. "They are right," she said with a smile, pointing at the striking attendants. The dispute between cabin crews and Air Canada hinges on the way airlines compensate flight attendants. Most, including Air Canada, have traditionally paid them only when planes are in motion. In their latest contract negotiations, flight attendants in both Canada and the United States have sought compensation for hours worked, including for tasks such as boarding passengers. New labor agreements at American Airlines and Alaska Airlines legally require carriers to start the clock for paying flight attendants when passengers are boarding. American's flight attendants are now also compensated for some hours between flights. United Airlines' cabin crews, who voted down a tentative contract deal last month, also want a similar provision.
