Siae-Meta war: will Antitrust play them on Zuckerberg?
The Antitrust chaired by Rustichelli intends to understand whether Mark Zuckerberg's company may have interrupted the negotiations by abusing the economic dependence of Siae. Along with the investigation, the precautionary proceeding was also launched. All details with Meta location
A piece is added to the clash between Meta and Siae, actually telephoned, given the declarations made by the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers in the Commission in the Chamber . The Competition and Market Authority has in fact launched an investigation against Meta to ascertain whether the allegations of abuse of economic dependence in the negotiation with Siae for the stipulation of the license to use the musical rights on its platforms .
In short, assuming that Meta may have actually interrupted the negotiations for the renewal of the expired contract by also eliminating the musical content protected by Siae from its social platforms, it will be necessary to understand whether such abandonment of the table has taken place (the American company denies) , was unlawful and the information necessary to carry out the negotiations in full compliance with the principle of transparency and fairness was not provided to the company.
META VS SIAE, WHAT THE ANTITRUST IS INVESTIGATING
The possibility that Meta has abused the contractual imbalance it benefits from by asking SIAE to accept an inadequate financial offer will be investigated, without however providing the appropriate information to evaluate its actual adequacy. Following the interruption of the negotiations, as is known, the company that manages Facebook and Instagram eliminated the musical contents protected by Siae from the social platforms so that they were no longer usable by users. The Authority believes that the hypothesized abuse of economic dependence could have a significant impact on the protection of competition in the markets concerned and cause serious damage to consumers.
This conduct could not only significantly compress SIAE's competitive capacity on the markets concerned, but also prevent the authors it represents – a significant part of those active in Italy – from reaching the increasingly broader category of users who use the social platforms. Meta's behavior could also have repercussions on authors represented by other companies (collecting societies) and who are co-owners of the rights together with authors protected by Siae.
"Added to this – the Authority chaired by Roberto Rustichelli communicates – that the obstacle to accessing musical content on the Meta platforms could also have negative effects for the remuneration of related rights of producers of musical works and all other legal positions protected under copyright law”.
Furthermore, these abusive practices could considerably limit the choice of consumers who would be deprived of the possibility of using the works protected by SIAE, an important component of the Italian and international musical offer.
THE PRECAUTIONARY PROCEDURE
At the same time as the investigation, the Antitrust also started the procedure to adopt any precautionary measures pursuant to art. 14-bis of the law n. 287/1990 : the interruption of the negotiation between Meta and Siae, in fact, could immediately affect the competitive dynamics between the various subjects that make up the market chain of intermediation of musical works copyright. Hence the need for a precautionary intervention that guarantees the reactivation of a negotiation process between Meta and Siae in compliance with the principles of good faith, transparency and fairness.
THE REPLIC OF THE US COLOSSUS
The predictable press release from Meta arrived shortly after: “We are ready to collaborate to respond to the requests of the Competition and Market Guarantor Authority. Protecting the copyrights of authors and artists is an absolute priority for us, which is why we remain committed to reaching an agreement with Siae that satisfies all parties".
Meanwhile, on Thursday 6 April, Meta and Siae are expected at the Ministry of Culture which will try to act as peacemaker between the two litigants: given the premises and the intervention of the Antitrust, the road could be all uphill.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/meta-siae/ on Wed, 05 Apr 2023 08:08:10 +0000.