Silent to Demands to Follow Copyright Rules, 'X (Eks)'

Non-compliance with X despite French court order

Major French media outlets have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against X (formerly Twitter).

On the 12th, Yonhap News reported that nine French newspapers, including Le Monde and Le Figaro, announced in a joint press release that "X has infringed on the neighboring rights of the press by using content without compensation," and that they are taking legal action.

X. AFP·Yonhap News

The European Union (EU) established copyright regulations in March 2019 to allow for fees to be collected for news content consumed on search engines and social networking services (SNS). Based on these regulations, negotiations with big tech companies such as Google and Facebook were concluded in 2021, resolving previous disputes.

These media outlets also attempted to negotiate content usage fees with X, but when X did not provide the necessary data such as views, retweets, and shares required to determine the fees, they requested expedited court proceedings last year.

Subsequently, in May, French judicial authorities ruled that X must provide information regarding the use of French media content to the respective media companies. The court ordered X to supply data such as views and retweet counts, as well as disclose the revenue generated by X in France. Additionally, X was required to explain the algorithms that guide the posting of media content.

X reportedly did not respond separately. As a result, the French newspapers have now filed a formal lawsuit. They pointed out, "X has not complied with this ruling so far" and "shows a firm intention to evade its legal obligations."

In May, French judicial authorities ruled that X must provide information about the use of French media content to the relevant media companies. AFP reported that a French lawyer representing X claimed, "Unlike Google or Facebook, X operates based on content posted by users," and argued that "the platform itself does not selectively provide content, so it does not fall under the EU copyright regulations."

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the largest shareholder of X, posted on X, stating, "They are telling us to pay for site traffic that generates advertising revenue, but it’s not us, it’s them," and called it "strange."