Rome, 6 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Italian competition authorities announced on Wednesday that they have opened an investigation into the Facebook group Meta.

They accuse Meta of having abused its position of power in negotiations with SIAE, Italy's copyright collective.

The Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, Musicians (SIAE) licenses the copyrights of actors, authors, dancers, and others.

The negotiations were about the licence to use music rights on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram make deals with the respective collecting societies of each country. These societies regulate how music may be used and how the music's authors are remunerated.

The last contract between Meta and SIAE expired in January.

After negotiations stalled, Meta muted all SIAE music from its platforms at the end of March, meaning none of their music has been allowed to be used on Facebook or Instagram since then.

Even in older posts or stories, music belonging to SIAE is not available. Users see the message: "This song is currently not available" when they click on them.

According to the competition authority, Meta has thereby exploited SIAE's economic dependence and damaged its competitiveness.

The authorities said Meta had also prevented SIAE musicians from being able to market their music on social media.

The US company is ready to cooperate with the Italian authority, a Meta spokesperson said on Wednesday, adding that it wants to reach an agreement that would work for all parties involved.