2024-10-22 14:24 update: 2024-10-24, 21:26
Photo EPA/LUKAS COCH
The Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) has begun an investigation concerning links to Polish press content on Facebook.
Initiated on Tuesday due to a dwindling interest towards Polish journalistic content, the inquiry regards recent changes implemented by Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
These alterations have influenced the manner in which news articles from Polish publishers are displayed on the social media platform. The new format displays Polish articles merely as links, in contrast to the previous format which included an accompanying image. The UOKiK asserts that this modification may have reduced the number of article views and the revenue of publishers.
Commenting on the matter for PAP, Meta said the changes were temporary and made in response to Poland's implementation of Article 15 of the EU Copyright Directive. The legislation permits the negotiation of fees for the publication of materials and grants the right to request compensation for the use of materials in search results or by content aggregators.
"Media outlets regard Facebook as a crucial platform for content distribution," said UOKIK Director Tomasz Chrosny.
According to a press statement issued by the regulator, the use of competition-restricting practices is punishable by a financial penalty of up to 10 percent of turnover.
Disputes between media organisations and Meta have not been limited to Poland. In the previous year, Canadian news was prohibited on Facebook, which served as a major blow to the country's journalism. Australia managed to avert a similar scenario by initiating discussions with the tech company. Additionally, Italy submitted a VAT claim against Meta last year, presenting the matter to the VAT committee of the EU Commission for assessment. (PAP)
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