Norway media take legal action to block Meta from using content

According to the plaintiffs, Meta's new terms of use would leave them no option to oppose the terms other than to delete their accounts.(AFP) — Norway’s main media organizations said Tuesday they had taken legal action to block Meta from enforcing new user terms that they claim threaten their rights to their journalistic content.According to the 10 media groups, the new terms, due to take effect Nov. 20, would give Meta — which owns Facebook and Instagram — the right to collect their articles, photos and videos, including those behind a paywall, and use them to develop artificial intelligence products, among other things.“The fear is that the companies will use this power to secure rights over journalistic content,” Lene Eltvik Vindfeld, head of the Norwegian Media Businesses’ Association, said in a statement.“Meta uses media groups’ investments to develop artificial intelligence services that compete with them directly. This is both unacceptable and distorts competition,” she added.According to the plaintiffs, Meta’s new terms of use would apply to all professional account holders — media outlets as well as companies and retailers — and would leave them no option to oppose the terms other than to delete their accounts.They said they had asked the Oslo District Court for a preliminary injunction to block the terms from taking effect pending a ruling on the merits of the case.The plaintiffs include public broadcaster NRK; media groups Schibsted, Amedia, Polaris and Aller; and Norwegian news agency NTB.Contacted by AFP, Meta said it had delayed implementation of the new user terms until Nov. 20 “to allow more time for us to explain to our partners and stakeholders what’s changing and what’s not.”On Oct. 14, the association and NRK also threatened to sue Meta, accusing the U.S. company of profiting from fraudulent advertisements impersonating them to defraud internet users.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads