French news agency AFP sues X for payment legislation

Company formerly known as Twitter refuses to discuss neighboring rights for media

By Nur Asena Erturk

French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) filed a lawsuit in Paris against X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding copyright legislation.

AFP expressed concerns about X refusing "to enter into discussions regarding the implementation of neighbouring rights for the press," according to a statement that was issued Wednesday.

It said those rights were "established to enable news agencies and publishers to be remunerated by digital platforms which retain most of the monetary value generated by the distribution of news content."

Elon Musk, the owner of X, responded Thursday in a tweet.

"This is bizarre. They want us to pay *them* for traffic to their site where they make advertising revenue and we don’t!?" he wrote.

France adopted the law in 2019 which compels digital platforms to pay news editors and agencies when they share and spread their articles.

Kaynak: