A coalition of major French newspapers announced legal action against social media company X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, alleging that the platform has been using their journalistic content without proper compensation.

The lawsuit, filed by several prominent French media outlets, including Le Figaro, Le Monde and Le Parisien, accuses X of exploiting articles and headlines without adhering to French copyright laws that require platforms to pay for such content. If successful, the French publishers could claim damages on arrears dating back to five years.

The dispute centers around a French law enacted in 2019 which implements the European Union’s “neighbouring rights” directive. This legislation mandates that online platforms compensate news publishers when sharing or displaying their content. The newspapers claim that X has consistently bypassed these requirements, leveraging their reporting to drive user engagement without offering fair remuneration. The plaintiffs also argue that X’s practices undermine their financial stability when the traditional media industry is already facing economic pressures.

The lawsuit marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between tech companies and news organizations over the use of copyrighted content. Other major platforms, such as Microsoft, Google and Meta, have previously faced similar legal battles in France and have since negotiated licensing agreements with publishers.

The owner of X, Elon Musk, has been vocal about his plans to reshape the platform and has previously criticized regulations he views as overly restrictive for online businesses.

X has not yet issued an official response to the lawsuit.