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Facebook Will Pay French Newspapers for Using Their News

Facebook Will Pay French Newspapers for Using Their News

Facebook Inc. struck an agreement with the French press alliance to pay national and regional newspapers for using excerpts of their articles when they’re shared on the social network.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed but the company said in a statement Thursday it meant its Facebook News service would launch in France in January. 

APIG President Pierre Louette said in the statement the deal meant Facebook would be in compliance with European Union and French law, and bring “significant financing for the alliance’s members, especially the smallest of them.” 

It took two years for the agreement to be reached and the underlying issue isn’t unique to Facebook; Alphabet Inc.’s Google received a 500 million-euro ($582 million) fine from France’s competition authority last July for failing to negotiate with media companies, which it appealed.

Publishers have long complained that Facebook and Google are capturing a growing share of the online advertising market by selling ads on their platforms alongside articles that they get for free.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.