Facebook signs copyright agreement with some French publishers

PARIS (Reuters) – Facebook said on Thursday it had signed an agreement with a French news publishers' lobby group regarding copyrights, after months of talks.

The US social media giant and the Alliance de la Presse, a lobby representing leading dailies such as Le Monde, Le Figaro and Les Echos, said in a joint statement that the agreement will pave the way for Facebook to pay for news content.

Facebook provided no detail about the content of the agreement, which will allow willing news publishers to feed Facebook News, which will be launched in France in January 2022.

The agreement follows the early adoption by France of a European Union directive that compels large online platforms to open discussions with news publishers about payment for content online.