The Italian competition watchdogs are starting an investigation into Meta

The Italian competition authority has launched an investigation into the Facebook group Meta. Meta allegedly abused its dominant position in negotiations with the company Siae, which is responsible for copyright in Italy, the authority announced on Wednesday.

The negotiations concerned the license to use music rights on meta-platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Musicians, actors, authors and dancers are organized in the Siae, among others.

music muted

Platforms such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram contract with the copyright organizations of the respective countries. These regulate how music may be used and how the authors of the music are rewarded. The previous contract between Meta and Siae expired in January.

With negotiations stalled, Meta muted music from the Siae catalog at the end of March. Since then, it has not been possible in Italy to include music by artists represented by Siae on Instagram and Facebook posts.

Musical content is also no longer available in older posts and stories. Instead, the error message “This number is currently unavailable” appears.

meta reacts

According to the competition authority, Meta abused Siae’s economic dependence by interrupting and silencing negotiations. Meta’s behavior has therefore affected Siae’s competitiveness. The group also prevents the musicians represented by Siae from reaching consumers and users on social media.

The American group is ready to cooperate with the Italian authority, a Meta spokesperson said on Wednesday. Meta aims to “reach an agreement with Siae that satisfies all parties”.

(dsc/sda/awp/dpa)