BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 28. Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, plans to change the terms of use for its products. Under the proposed rules, any organization with a page on Meta’s social media platforms would automatically grant the company free access to all its content for commercial use. For media outlets, this means Meta could use their entire body of content at no cost and at its own discretion.
This is not a new problem. The media industry has faced a similar issue with Google, which for years used news content free of charge in its services. The issue was eventually addressed in some countries through regulators, courts and legislation.
In France, the antitrust authority fined Google €500 million in 2021 and another €250 million in 2024 for violating publishers’ rights to remuneration. The company was subsequently forced to sign paid agreements with French media outlets. Australia and Canada have adopted laws requiring digital platforms to pay news publishers. The EU’s 2019 Copyright Directive also establishes media outlets’ right to remuneration for the use of their content online.
Unfortunately, this issue remains relevant for Azerbaijan as well.
European media organizations are now pushing back against Meta and its demands. In particular, the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA), which brings together 33 news agencies across the continent, has called on Zuckerberg’s company to revise its rules.
“This is not a problem for news agencies alone. The new terms will harm the entire news media ecosystem. Meta will be handed the content of every media organization using its platforms on a silver platter. This means journalists around the world will effectively be working for Meta. And that is without even mentioning smaller outlets, which are already struggling,” EANA Secretary General Alexandru Giboi said.
“Our content is not just what funds our businesses. It is a vital source that enables society to access reliable information, and producing it costs money. It is absurd that Meta believes news organizations can simply give it away for free,” he stressed.
The EANA secretary general also warned of the consequences for the information environment.
“If reliable news organizations are pushed off Meta’s platforms, where a substantial part of public debate takes place, the space they leave behind will certainly not remain empty. It will be filled by bad actors spreading unverified and manipulative content,” Giboi said.
At the same time, he noted that the alliance was ready to negotiate.
“We are open to constructive dialogue with Meta and all platforms on licensing models for the use of news content,” the secretary general said.
In its statement, EANA said it was joining publishers, broadcasters and other media organizations in Europe and beyond in calling on Meta to remove the website-scanning provision from its new commercial terms and replace it with conditions that protect copyright.
News organizations, including EANA members, oppose Meta’s move, and the alliance said it understood and supported their position.
“No media organization should have to choose between access to its audience and the protection of its rights,” the statement said. According to EANA, the fact that news outlets are being forced to make such a choice is itself clear evidence that the new terms are misguided.
The alliance is calling for access to journalistic content to be governed by separate agreements, based on the rights holder’s consent, a license and payment.
EANA has also urged the European Commission and national competition and media regulators to take action before the new terms come into force, using the legal instruments available under EU copyright, competition and digital markets legislation.
