French Newspaper Group Les Echos-Le Parisien Withdraws from Lawsuit against Elon Musk's X
Les Echos-Le Parisien, a newspaper group owned by LVMH, has reportedly withdrawn from a lawsuit against Elon Musk's X platform, according to court officials and media industry sources.
Previously, the newspaper group had announced plans to join the lawsuit filed by other French media outlets to demand compensation for unpaid content used on the platform. However, recent developments indicate that Les Echos-Le Parisien has since dropped its intention to pursue legal action.
Sources within the newspaper group cite unspecified reasons for the decision to withdraw from the lawsuit. A spokesperson for Les Echos-Le Parisien declined to provide further details, stating that previous threats against X had been made but subsequent discussions had taken place.
The withdrawal from the lawsuit comes after Les Echos-Le Parisien's initial decision to join would have potentially pitted LVMH and its CEO, Bernard Arnault, against Musk, a prominent ally of former US President Donald Trump.
Despite the withdrawal, other French newspaper groups, including Le Monde and Le Figaro, continue to pursue legal proceedings against X. These groups seek compensation for content visible on the platform under the EU's copyright and related rights rules.
Les Echos, France's leading daily business newspaper, and Le Parisien, a general news daily, had previously argued that X, like other platforms utilizing their content, must comply with EU copyright regulations.
The newspaper groups had previously won a case against Google in 2021 and reached an agreement with Meta on similar issues. Les Echos-Le Parisien also recently announced a separate lawsuit against LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft.