Italy Investigates Meta Platform For Alleged Abuse Of Positions In Music Rights Negotiations

JAKARTA - The Italian antitrust authority announced on Wednesday April 5 that it would investigate Meta Platform Inc., on suspicion of abuse of position in talks on music rights posted on Meta platforms and potentially detrimental to competition in the sector.

The dispute involved the Italian writer and publisher, SIAE.

According to antitrust regulator Mark Zuckerberg's company may have "without reason cut talks to negotiate licenses for use on its platform" from AIE's music rights, as described in its official statement.

According to regulators, Meta's actions in discontinuing negotiations for contract extensions have ended by eliminating SIAE-protected music content from its social platform, but do not provide the necessary information to SIAE to negotiate with its "principles of justice and transparency."

Meta's actions could hurt competition in relevant markets and "result in serious damage to consumers," he added.

Last month, Meta, which owns Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram, failed to reach an agreement with SIAE to renew copyright licensing. As a result, all songs under SIAE's books have been blocked on its platform since March 16.

"We will fully cooperate with investigations from the Italian Competition Authority. Protecting the copyright of songwriters and artists is an important priority for us," a Meta spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The investigation involved Meta Platforms Inc, Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Meta Platforms Technologies UK Limited, and Facebook Italy Srl.