A French trade group representing authors and screenwriters has launched legal action against Chinese social media giant TikTok, alleging widespread copyright infringements.
The Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers (SACD), a non-profit collective representing around 60,000 writers for cinema, television, theatre, and comedy shows, filed a lawsuit in Paris on Thursday.
“TikTok has, for many years, been using protected works from the SACD repertoire without any authorisation and has never offered acceptable compensation for the authors of these works, nor has it removed the works we asked it to,” the SACD said in a statement.
The lawsuit cites the use of dialogue or extracts from popular French films such as “Asterix and Obelix” and cult comedies like “Brice de Nice”, as well as animated series and comedy sketches. After four years of fruitless discussions, SACD is seeking redress for losses suffered by authors whose works were exploited on the platform.
The group also demands financial transparency from TikTok to accurately determine the compensation owed to copyright holders.
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance with European headquarters in Ireland, has faced increasing regulatory scrutiny in Europe. In May, the platform was fined 530 million euros ($600 million) by the EU for unlawfully transferring personal data of European users to China.
Separately, a deal in the US will see TikTok’s American operations sold to investors allied with former President Donald Trump.
TikTok did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment. A first hearing in the Paris case is scheduled for March 18, 2026.
