Meta Ordered to Pay Millions to Spanish Media in Landmark Copyright Ruling
Madrid,Spain – November 20,2025 – โคA Spanish court has mandated Meta Platforms to โcompensate Spanish media outlets millions of euros for unauthorized use of their copyrighted newsโฃ content,marking a critically important victory for publishers and a potential turning point in the ongoing battle over โdigital copyright. The ruling, delivered today, stems from a โcollective action brought by the Association of Spanish Editors of Newspapers and Magazines (AEDP) and demands Meta pay approximately โฌ25 million inโฃ damages.
The decision centers on Meta’s platforms – Facebook and Instagram – and their alleged failure to โคsecure proper licensing agreements for displaying snippets of news articles. Spanish publishers argue that โMeta profited from their content without fair compensation, impacting their revenue streams and undermining the sustainability of qualityโฃ journalism. The court agreed, finding โMeta liable for infringing copyright law and establishing a precedent for similar cases across Europe.This ruling follows years of escalating tensions between news organizationsโ and tech giants over โthe value of news content shared on social media platforms.
The AEDP initiated the legal challenge in 2023, arguing that Meta benefitted considerably from the distribution โคof news content on its platforms, attracting users and generating advertising revenue without adequately compensating the original creators. The court’s judgment requires Meta to negotiate licensing agreements withโ spanish news publishers for future use of their content.
while theโข exactโข amount of compensation is still being โฃfinalized, the โcourt has indicated the โฌ25 million figure reflects the economicโค harm โcaused by Meta’s actions. Meta has stated it intends to โขappeal the decision, maintainingโ its position that it acts as a platform for โฃsharing information and โคdoes not directly profit from news content. The case underscores the growing global movement to address theโ imbalance of power between news publishers and technology companies โin the digital age, with similar legal battles unfolding in countries like Australia and Canada.
