EUROPEAN MEDIA FREEDOM ACT: PROPOSED EC REGULATION

The European Commission has adopted a European Media Freedom Act, a novel set of rules to protect media pluralism and independence in the EU. The proposed Regulation includes, among others, safeguards against political interference in editorial decisions and against surveillance. It puts a focus on the independence and stable funding of public service media as well as on the transparency of media ownership and of the allocation of state advertising. It also sets out measures to protect independence of editors and disclose conflicts of interest. Finally, the Act will address the issue of media concentrations and create a new independent European Board for Media Services, comprised of national media authorities. The Commission also adopted a complementary Recommendation to encourage internal safeguards for editorial independence.

No political interference, no spying, stable funding

The European Media Freedom Act will ensure that media – public and private – can operate more easily across borders in the EU internal market, without undue pressure and taking into account the digital transformation of the media space. 

• Protection of editorial independence – the Regulation will require Member States to respect the effective editorial freedom of media service providers and improve the protection of journalistic sources. In addition, media service providers will have to ensure transparency of ownership by publicly disclosing such information and take measures with a view to guaranteeing the independence of individual editorial decisions.
• No use of spyware against media – the Media Freedom Act includes strong safeguards against the use of spyware against media, journalists and their families.
• Independent public service media –where public service media exist, their funding provided should be adequate and stable, in order to ensure editorial independence. The head and the governing board of public service media will have to be appointed in a transparent, open and non-discriminatory manner. Public service media providers shall provide a plurality of information and opinions, in an impartial manner, in accordance with their public service mission.
• Media pluralism tests – the Media Freedom Act requires Member States to assess the impact of media market concentrations on media pluralism and editorial independence. It also requires that any legislative, regulatory or administrative measure taken by a Member State that could affect the media is duly justified and proportionate.
• Transparent state advertising – the Media Freedom Act will establish new requirements for the allocation of state advertising to media, so that it is transparent and non-discriminatory. The Act will also enhance the transparency and objectivity of audience measurement systems, which have an impact on media advertising revenues, in particular online.
• Protection of media content online – building on the Digital Services Act, the Media Freedom Act includes safeguards against the unjustified removal of media content produced according to professional standards. In cases not involving systemic risks such as disinformation, very large online platforms that intend to take down certain legal media content considered to be contrary to the platform's policies will have to inform the media service providers about the reasons, before such take down takes effect. Any complaints lodged by media service providers will have to be processed with priority by those platforms.
• New user right to customise your media offer – the Media Freedom Act will introduce a right of customisation of the media offer on devices and interfaces, such as connected TVs, enabling users to change the default settings to reflect their own preferences.

The proposal is accompanied by a Recommendation setting out a number of voluntary best practices collected from the sector and geared at promoting editorial independence and greater ownership transparency. The Recommendation provides a toolbox of voluntary measures for media companies to consider, such as the conditions for independent creation of editorial content, through empowering journalists to participate in crucial decisions for the functioning of media outlets, to strategies for ensuring long-term stability of news content production.

A European watchdog for media freedom 

The Commission proposes to set up a new independent European Board for Media Services comprised of national media authorities. The Board will promote the effective and consistent application of the EU media law framework, in particular by assisting the Commission in preparing guidelines on media regulatory matters. It will also be able to issue opinions on national measures and decisions affecting media markets and media market concentrations.

The Board will also coordinate national regulatory measures regarding non-EU media that present a risk to public security to ensure that those media do not circumvent the applicable rules in the EU. The Board will also organise a structured dialogue between very large online platforms and the media sector to promote access to diverse media offers and to monitor platforms' compliance with self-regulatory initiatives, such as the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation.

Next steps

It is now for the European Parliament and the Member States to discuss the Commission's proposal for a Regulation under the ordinary legislative procedure. Once adopted, it will be directly applicable across the European Union. The Commission will encourage discussions, notably as part of the European News Media Forum, on voluntary practices by media companies linked to the accompanying Recommendation.

EU National Media Authorities

1. Austria: Kommunikationsbehörde Austria-KommAustria (Austrian Communications Authority)
2. Belgium : Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles
3. Belgium: Vlaamse Regulator voor de Media
4. Belgium: Conseil des Médias de la Communauté Germanophone (Medienrat der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschat)
5. Bulgaria : Council for Electronic Media CEM
6. Croatia: Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) Electronic Media Council
7. Cyprus: Cyprus Radio-Television Authority
8. Czechia: Rada pro Rozhlasové a Televizni Vysilani (Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting)
9. Denmark: Radio and Television Board c/o Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces, Media Division
10. Estonia: Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (ECTRA) Communications and Media Services Division
11. Finland: Finnish Transport and Communications Agency
12. France: Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA)
13. Germany : Die Medienanstalten-The Media Authorities (Association of the 14 regional Media Authorities)

• BLM- Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien
• Bremische Landesmedienanstalt
• LfK- Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg
• Landesanstalt für Medien NRW
• LMS-Landesmedienanstalt Saarland
• LPR- Hessische Landesantalt für privaten Rundfunk und neue Medien
• LMK-Landeszentrale für private Rundfunkveranstalter Rheinland-Pfalz
• LRZ- Landesrundfunkzentrale Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• MABB- Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg
• Medienanstalt Hamburg-Schleswig-Holstein (MA HSH)
• MSA- Medienanstalt Sachsen-Anhalt
• NLM- Niedersächsische Landesmedienanstalt
• SLM- Sächsiche Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk und neue Medien
• TLM- Thüringer Landesmedienanstalt

14. Greece: National Council for Radio and Television

15. Hungary: National Media and Infocommunications Authority

16. Ireland: BCI- Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

17. Italy: Autrità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni- AGCOM (Communications Authority)

18. Latvia : National Electronic Mass Media Council

19. Lithuania: Lietuvos Radijo ir Televizijos Komisija (Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania LRTK)

20. Luxembourg: Autorité Luxembourgeoise Indépendante de l’audiovisuel (ALIA)

21.Malta : Broadcasting Authority Malta

22. Netherlands : Commissariaat voor de Media

23.Poland : Krajowa Rady Razdiofonij i Telewizji- KRRiT (National Broadcasting Council)

24. Portugal: ERC-Entidade Reguladora para a Communicaçao Social (Portuguese Regulatory Authority for the Media)

25. Romania: Consiliul Nacional al Audiovizualului (National Audiovisual Council Romania)

26. Slovakia : Rada pre vysielanie a retransmisiu (Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission of the Slovak Republoc)

27. Slovenia: AKOS- Agency for Communication Networks and Services

28. Spain: Comision Nacional de los Mercados y la competencia (Telecommunications and Audiovisual Sector)

29. Sweden : The Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority