The dispute involves the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, SIAE.
Italy’s antitrust authority said Wednesday it would investigate Meta Platforms over possible abuse of its position in negotiating the rights to music posted on the platform and potentially harming competition in the sector.
Italy’s antitrust authority said Wednesday it would investigate Meta Platforms over possible abuse of its position in negotiating the rights to music posted on the platform and potentially harming competition in the sector.
The dispute involves the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, SIAE.
According to the antitrust regulator, Mark Zuckerberg’s company may have “obstructed negotiations for the terms of licensing” of SIAE’s music rights for use on its platform, it said in a statement.
The regulator said Meta obstructed negotiations for the renewal of terminated contracts by removing SIAE-protected music content from its social platforms, but did not provide SIAE with the information necessary to negotiate under the “principles of fairness and transparency”. .
Its conduct could harm competition in relevant markets and “cause serious harm to consumers”.
Last month Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, failed to strike a deal with SIAE to renew the copyright licence. As a result, since 16 March all songs under SIAE’s books have been blocked on its platform.
“We will cooperate fully with the Italian Competition Authority’s investigation. Protecting the copyrights of songwriters and artists is an important priority for us,” a Meta spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The investigation involves Meta Platforms Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., Meta Platforms Technologies UK Ltd. and Facebook Italy Sr.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
