PARIS, France: France's competition authority has ordered Meta Platforms to resume negotiations with French media organizations and submit a payment proposal over fees for using publishers' content on its platforms.

The watchdog directed Meta to provide details of its payment plan within 15 days after finding the company likely abused its dominant market position during negotiations over so-called neighboring rights.

The dispute is part of a broader clash between publishers and technology companies over payments for news content distributed on social media and used in artificial intelligence systems.

The complaint, filed by French media associations DVP and APIG, alleges that Meta tried to impose its own methodology for calculating fees while refusing to provide the information publishers needed to assess the proposed remuneration.

In a statement, Meta said it disagreed with the competition authority's decision but would continue participating in the process.

"We remain committed to reaching a fair deal with DVP and APIG, and we hope these decisions will mean the publishers now engage in good faith," the company said in an emailed statement.

DVP, whose members include newspapers Le Monde and Les Echos, welcomed the ruling and said it was pleased negotiations would resume.

The dispute centers on "neighboring rights," European Union rules that allow news publishers to seek compensation when their content is used digitally by online platforms.

France has been among the most active countries in enforcing those rules, imposing significant penalties on technology companies in recent years, particularly Google.

The competition authority said it deliberately declined to set a provisional amount for the unpaid fees, saying it did not want to influence negotiations between the two sides.

"Setting a specific amount risked creating a focal point for the negotiation, something we wanted to avoid," said Benoit Coeure, president of the antitrust authority.

A previous agreement between Meta, DVP, and APIG expired in 2024, and the parties have been unable to agree on a new payment methodology. As a result, French media organizations represented by the groups have not received payments since 2025.

The authority said the lack of payments had caused financial harm to DVP and APIG members even though their news content continued to be distributed across Meta's platforms.