Antitrust closes Meta-Siae case: big tech's commitments accepted

Antitrust closes the dispute between Meta and Siae. The Italian Competition Authority has accepted the commitments presented by the US group, putting an end to a proceeding opened in April 2023 following the abrupt interruption of negotiations for the renewal of the license for the use of musical works protected by the Italian company on the Facebook and Instagram platforms.

The Authority's decision, formalized with the provision published in the recently published Bulletin of May 12, comes after more than two years of complex discussions and a market test involving several operators in the sector. The commitments presented by Meta - modified several times on the basis of observations by Siae and the Italian Phonographic Association (AFI) - were deemed suitable to remedy the competitive criticalities that emerged during the investigation.

In detail, Meta has committed to negotiate in good faith and with defined timeframes, also through the stipulation of provisional agreements if the existing license expires before a new agreement. It also provides for the possibility of appointing an independent trustee to resolve any negotiating impasses, and the sharing of a minimum set of information is guaranteed to facilitate the definition of remuneration.

From the objective scope point of view, the commitments concern the licenses relating to the so-called “Italian Music Rights” and include – albeit in an ancillary form – also user generated content (UGC), as requested by Siae. The hope, advanced by the collecting society, to transform the commitment to negotiate into a real contractual obligation was not accepted, nor was an unlimited temporal extension of the measures foreseen, which will remain in force for a period of four years.

For the Antitrust, the closure of the proceeding marks a point of balance between the needs of the market and the protection of competition. "The commitments - as stated in the provision - respond coherently to the concerns outlined and guarantee transparency and fairness in future negotiations".