PARIS (AFP) — A Paris court ruled Thursday that X needed to provide French media with information about how much money it makes from publishing their content as part of a legal battle over rights payments.
A dozen media outlets including Le Monde, Le Figaro and AFP are seeking payment of so-called neighboring rights, which under French law are due when social media platforms republish news content.
The ruling orders X, formerly Twitter, to act within two months to provide the media organizations with data including the number of views of their information, the number of clicks on the content, as well as data about reader engagement such as retweets, likes and sharing.
X was also ordered to inform the media about the revenue generated in France by X from this information, according to a copy of the ruling.
X was also ordered to describe how its algorithms lead it to publishing the media content.
The information, which must remain confidential, is necessary for a "transparent evaluation" of the amount the media consider due for publication of their content under neighboring rights legislation, said the ruling.
The judge handed down the ruling under an accelerated procedure and the media outlets will need to return to court for a ruling forcing X to pay.
Last year the media outlets, which also includes the Huffington Post and Les Echos-Le Parisien, filed suit after X refused to negotiate. A hearing was held on March 4 after mediation efforts failed.
AFP's Chief Executive Fabrice Fries welcomed the ruling.
"The ruling confirms that X/Twitter is subject to neighboring rights for the media and it forces the platform to provide information required by the law to determine the payments" due to media outlets, he wrote on X.
Fries called the ruling a "decisive step" in getting the new right honored in practice.
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By Agence France-Presse
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