On 12 May 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Case C‑797/23, Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd v Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni, concerning Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd’s appeal against a provision transposing EU Directive 2019/790 on copyright in the digital single market.

The Court clarified the limits within which Member States of the European Union (EU) may regulate the remuneration that information society service providers owe to publishers of journalistic publications for the online distribution of their content.

The dispute arose from Meta’s challenge to the compatibility of the Italian legislation with EU law; in particular, Meta argued that the Italian legislation goes beyond the provisions of Article 15 of the EU Directive, adding obligations, powers and mechanisms not provided for in the Directive, in breach of Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which guarantees the freedom to conduct a business.

The Court has ruled on the matter and declared that the Italian legislation complies with the EU Directive, subject to three conditions: publishers must retain the right to refuse authorisation or to grant it free of charge; no payment obligation may be imposed on service providers in the absence of actual use of the publications; and obligations and sanctions must comply with the principle of proportionality. 

The Court clarified that Article 15 of Directive 2019/790 leaves Member States a margin of discretion regarding the methods of implementation, provided that they do not alter the nature of the Directive. Consequently, the provision of fair remuneration in return for the authorisation granted by publishers does not undermine exclusive rights.

With regard to the freedom to conduct a business, the Court recognised that the information obligations and the prohibition on limiting the visibility of content during negotiations constitute restrictions on Meta’s freedom to conduct a business, but held that they were justified and proportionate, given the disadvantaged and structurally weak position of publishers as compared with large digital platforms. In this regard, the administrative fine of up to 1% of turnover was also deemed not to be manifestly disproportionate. 

The Court’s ruling is of significant importance for digital publishing law and for relations between platforms and producers of journalistic content in the European Union, as it consolidates the legitimacy of national fair remuneration models in accordance with the European framework.