Italy: Anti-trust authority moves against Meta in music rights case

Milan::Italy’s antitrust authority said on Friday it had taken measures against Meta Platform over an alleged abuse of its position in the country, in a probe involving the rights to music posted on the group’s platforms.

Meta, the U.S. group which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, last month failed to reach a deal with the Italian society of authors and publishers SIAE, to renew copyright licences.

As a result, all songs under SIAE’s books have been blocked on its platforms since March 16.

The watchdog said Meta’s conduct was harming competition in the market and ordered the tech giant to resume talks with SIAE.

A spokesperson for Meta said the company did not agree with the precautionary measures taken by the Italian authority, yet it welcomed the opportunity to resume talks in order to find an agreement.

“We welcome the opportunity given to all parties involved to return to the negotiating table to reach a shared solution”, she said.