Le Monde, Le Figaro and others accuse X of not paying for content distribution and seek legal redress.

Several major French newspapers have decided to take legal action against social media giant X, accusing the platform of using their content without paying.

Tuesday’s joint action includes Le Monde, Le Figaro, Les Echos, Le Parisien, Telerama, Courrier International, Huffington Post, Malesherbes Publications and Le Nouvel Obs.

The media outlets said they were owed payment under their ancillary rights, which under a European directive adopted into French law expire when social media platforms republish news content.

They said X, formerly known as Twitter, never agreed to enter into negotiations with French news publishers unlike Alphabet Inc’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc.

They also said that X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, failed to comply with an order issued by the Paris Court of Justice in May to disclose information necessary to calculate the amount owed.

“The income from these rights, with the investment that they would allow their beneficiaries to make, is a boost to the plurality, independence and quality of the media, which are essential for freedom of expression and the right to information in our society.” democratic society. ”the newspapers said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Paris court confirmed the case and said the hearing was scheduled for May 15.

In a similar case, the AFP news agency stated in August that it was taking legal action against X before the Paris Judicial Court.

The AFP expressed concern “about the clear refusal of Twitter (recently renamed ‘X’) to engage in discussions on the application of neighboring rights for the press,” according to a statement published by the French news agency.

These rights were established to allow news agencies and publishers to be remunerated by digital platforms that retain the majority of the monetary value generated by the distribution of news content, it added.