The enforcement challenges surrounding the press publishers’ right introduced by Article 15 of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive (CDSMD) continue to fuel debate in European copyright and media policy. Conceived to support the sustainability of the news media sector and to strengthen publishers’ bargaining power vis-à-vis digital platforms, this related right has nonetheless proven difficult to enforce in practice. Emerging case law reveals persistent structural obstacles in recalibrating information and power asymmetries between press publishers and large online platforms.

These challenges are compounded by ambiguities in the EU legal framework and by fragmented national implementation and negotiation practices, particularly with regard to the role of Collective Management Organisations across Member States. Such fragmentation risks encouraging platforms to rely on alternative or non-traditional content sources, potentially undermining the market position, visibility, and economic sustainability of accredited press publishers and established news media.

In the meantime, new enforcement pathways are emerging in the area. Ongoing investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as well as antitrust proceedings concerning Google’s use of copyrighted press content to provide AI-powered services such as AI Overviews and AI Mode without adequate remuneration, illustrate the increasingly complex interaction among competition law, DMA enforcement, and copyright-based remuneration claims. At the national level, hybrid enforcement mechanisms, particularly those drawing on concepts such as the abuse of economic dependence, are increasingly being mobilised to enhance the effectiveness of remuneration rights. The recent activism of the French competition authority, including its 2024 decision sanctioning Alphabet for breaching commitments in the Google News case and for practices affecting publishers’ ability to negotiate fair compensation, exemplifies this evolving enforcement practice.

This webinar is part of a broader EUI CMPF-CDS webinar series on AI, copyright, and media markets. A previous event in the series was held on 13 April, and this session continues the discussion by focusing specifically on enforcement dynamics related to the press publishers’ right.

This webinar will examine how public and private enforcement tools can be more effectively integrated to address interconnected challenges at the intersection of AI-driven platform markets and copyright law. It will explore the economic sustainability of media and creative industries in the AI era, renewed risks of self-preferencing and exploitative conduct, the relationship between DMA enforcement and Article 102 TFEU, and ultimately, how to give concrete effect to the press publishers’ related rights embedded in Article 15 CDSMD.