EU’s Upcoming Media Freedom Act - Tackling the Decline of Media Freedom in the EU
Source: European Commission
by Aari Helmelaid, 7 minutes
The decline of Press Freedom in the EU
On May 3rd, Europe celebrated World Press Freedom Day. However, it was done in the shadow of the recent Press Freedom Index that revealed some dark truths about the state of freedom of the media in The European Union. For example, Greece was ranked as the worst country in the EU for press freedom, ranking 108th out of 180 countries on the index, falling a substantial 48 spots compared to ranking 70th in the previous year.
The Freedom of the press in the European Union has been in steady decline for the past couple of years. In some European countries, independent media outlets are targeted as enemies and are hindered in their work by draconian laws that aim to limit the spread of information that is not in line with the status quo of certain governments. In addition to this, individual journalists are targeted with threats of violence for reporting on issues of public interest.
To protect and promote media freedom, the EU has a variety of legislative acts, but so far, no singular harmonised act.
The European Union in the first place gives constitutional value to media freedom, committing to protecting it through Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which reads:
“1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.
2. The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.”
However, It has become visible that primary law is not sufficient to protect media freedom in the EU, which is why, in January 2022, the Commission launched a public consultation on the upcoming European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) - a proposed act to safeguard the pluralism and independence of the media in the EU internal market.
Source: EU Neighbours
Why is there a need to regulate Media Freedom in the EU?
The world of press and media is a complex landscape filled with social and political intricacies. Journalists, bloggers, media companies and their sources are facing a wide range of obstacles that hinder their role as watchdogs for the public. They are confronted with an increase in the politicisation of the media, a decrease in the protection of the right to information, a lack of transparency of media ownership and a lack of independence of media regulators in several Member States. In some alarming cases, journalists in the EU have even been murdered, due to their work on high-profile crime cases. In 2021, a Greek investigative journalist reporting on crime, Giorgos Karaïvaz, was killed unexpectedly, for his work on controversial crime topics. In the same year, a well-known dutch journalist, Peter R. De Vries was also murdered in a mafia-style attack. De Vries in particular was closely covering the Marengo trial, a high-profile case involving seventeen members of the Mocro Mafia, a Dutch-Moroccan criminal gang accused of murder and attempted murder on several counts. After leaving the studio or RTL Boulevard (Dutch national television), De Vries was shot in the head. De Vries had a respected reputation as an investigative journalist and was respected by the Dutch public. His murder shook the nation and invoked emotional reactions calling for action both from home and from the European Commission.
Direct attacks toward journalists show the urgency of the matter, but more subtle risks arise from a lack of transparency to the public regarding ownership of these portals. A lack of independence can be inferred in a media outlet if it is funded and staffed by bigger corporations or public authorities. When larger bodies own most of the media portals in a country, there is inevitably less media pluralism. Media pluralism is the notion describing that media shall have independence from private control. It promotes the idea of having a diversity of viewpoints available and consumed across the media without significant hindrances to accessibility and the rights of journalists to report. Press freedom, on the other hand, is related to the lack of state monopoly or state intrusion in the press.
Although many EU states score among the top 20 on the Press Freedom Index, others fall into the lower rankings. In Poland (66th) and Hungary (85th), governments have intensified draconian laws against journalists. For example, the Hungarian government has for the last 10 years pursued a clear strategy to silence independent media through manipulation of the media market – pushing the forcible closure or government takeover of independent media.
Due to the subtleness of the control of the media by governments, legislating for press freedom and media pluralism is a difficult task that the Commission must face.
The state of media Freedom is also a concern in western Europe. For example, the Netherlands ranked 6th in 2021 and has fallen a significant 22 spots to 28th place in 2022.
Audiovisual Media Services Directive
The upcoming European Media Freedom act will build upon the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. This directive lays down rules for the independence of media regulators, promotes transparency of media ownership and recognises that editorial decisions should be free from interference. The Directive enables the Member States to ensure that major events are available on a free-to-air basis for their population. The Directive also facilitates the cross-border dissemination of TV channels based on the country-of-origin principle. This principle promotes the right of a company providing services in one country to be automatically qualified to provide services in any other Member State on the basis of home-country regulation.
Not only does the directive regulate traditional audiovisual media providers, but it also extends certain audiovisual rules to video-sharing platforms. Services such as social media are hence included, where the provision of videos and programmes is not the principal purpose of the service, but still constitutes an ‘essential functionality' thereof.
Source: European Parliament
What can we expect from the European Media Freedom Act?
The EMFA is meant to take strong consideration of the Commission’s Recommendation on the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists. The Recommendation emphasises four main areas to improve the rights of journalists:
1. General Recommendations:
In light of the increasing number of attacks on journalists, the recommendation calls on the Member States to vigorously investigate and prosecute criminal acts targeting journalists. Member States should create more cooperation between law enforcement and media bodies to address the threats faced by journalists. It is also of utmost importance that the media has non-discriminatory access to information from public authorities.
2. Protests and Demonstrations
As a great portion of violence against journalists occurs in demonstrations, the Member States should provide regular training to law enforcement authorities to ensure that journalists can work safely during high-risk events of public interest.
3. Online safety and digital empowerment
Journalists frequently receive threats online and are hindered by cybersecurity risks and illegal surveillance. Hence why the Member States are encouraged to promote cooperation with online media platforms to tackle threats against journalists.
4. Women and minority groups journalists and those reporting on equality issues
Female journalists and journalists from minority groups are especially vulnerable to threats. Member States should therefore support initiatives to empower these groups and those reporting on equality issues, thereby improving transparency and effective reporting on attacks. In General, equality and representation should be present in the media professional market and in its workforce.
In Addition to this, the EMFA is also closely tied to the Digital Services Act package, which is another legislative initiative that is constituted by the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Market Act (DMA). The main goal of the package is to create a digital space where the fundamental rights of users are protected and to establish a level playing field fostering innovation & growth. Essentially the act addresses the rapid growth of digitalisation, social networking and online platforms, and their effect on the internal market. Online services have numerous benefits, but they are also prone to be misused and manipulated to spread disinformation and may put the fundamental rights of their users at risk.
As is evident, the regulation of media freedom in the EU is still a chaotic patchwork of a variety of different hard and soft law instruments. The EMFA is set to be presented between July to September 2022. It remains to be seen how the EU will move forward with the European Media Freedom Act and whether it will bring concrete results to improving the safety of journalists and media pluralism in the member states.
