STRASBOURG – It was conceived in response to serious government interference in the public media Poland e Hungary and following the scandal of software who spied on journalists. But the latest project of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, which wants to subject state TV and radio to the government, makes it even more current and urgent. The European Media Freedom Actwhich the European Parliament approved today by a large majority, is proof that the EU does not underestimate the risks faced by media freedom and therefore democracy on the continent.
What is the European Media Freedom Act
The European media freedom law (Emfa) will establish a common framework for media services within the EU internal market and introduce measures to counter the politicization of the media and the lack of transparency of their ownership, as well as to protect journalists from political interference, in a continent that however remains at the forefront of the world when it comes to media freedom: in the ranking of World Press Freedom Of Reporters Without Borders8 of the top 10 countries belong to the EU, with only Greece outside the top hundred.
(afp)
Freedom of the public media
According to the new law, EU countries will have to guarantee the editorial and functional independence of public mediathrough transparent and non-discriminatory procedures in appointments of executives and board members, who must operate for a sufficiently long mandate and cannot be dismissed earlier than established unless they no longer meet the performance criteria. Public media will also need to be funded through transparent and objective procedures, and public reporting will monitor their independence from politics.
Bria: “Preventive censorship and political control in Rai. Thus public TV becomes the spokesperson for a single faction” by Matteo Pucciarelli 15 February 2024
Spy software against journalists
The authorities will be prohibited from resorting to arrests, sanctions, searches, intrusive surveillance software installed on electronic devices and other coercive methods to pressure journalists and editorial managers into revealing their sources.
During negotiations with the Council, Parliament introduced strong limitations on the use of spy software, which will only be permitted on a case-by-case basis and subject to authorization from a judicial authority in the context of investigations into serious crimes punishable by prison sentences. Even in these circumstances, however, affected individuals will need to be informed after the surveillance has been carried out and will then be able to challenge it in court. Therefore, the request to allow spy software in the face of a risk to the public was rejected “national security”. This point of the law arises from the sensational case of the illegal use that was made of Pegasus and others spyware to control journalists and politicians. There were some among those spied on the Catalan independentists and the prime minister Pedro Sanchez in Spain, and then journalists and politicians in Hungary, Poland e Greece (among them the leader of Pasok Nikos Androulakis).
“On information, Meloni’s models are Putin and Trump. The risk is violence” by our correspondent Paolo Mastrolilli 29 January 2024
The transparency of ownership
To allow the public to know who controls individual media and what interests may lie behind ownership, all newspapers, from the largest to the smallest, will be required to publish information on their owners within a national database and to indicate whether they are directly or indirectly owned by the State.
(afp)
State advertising
The media will also have to report on the funds received from state advertising and on state financial support, including funds from non-EU countries (for example the Russia). To ensure that the media does not become dependent on state advertising, public funds will be allocated through open and non-discriminatory procedures, based on public criteria. Member States will have to distribute state advertising spending across a broad spectrum. Public authorities will annually publish information on public advertising spending, the total amount spent annually and the amounts invested for media service providers or online platform.
Gazeta Wyborcza: “Attacks and complaints from the Polish government. It’s the Orbán method” from our correspondent Tonia Mastrobuoni 26 January 2024
The arbitrary decisions of the large platforms
MEPs have introduced a mechanism that aims to prevent very large online platforms, such as Facebook, X o Instagram, to arbitrarily limit or remove independent media content. After distinguishing independent media from non-independent sources, platforms that intend to adopt measures of this type will have to inform interested parties, giving them 24 hours to respond. Only once this period of time has passed will the platforms be able to decide to limit or remove content that does not comply with their conditions.
Media will be able to appeal to an out-of-court dispute resolution body and seek advice from the European Media Services Board, a committee of national regulators under the new law.
The EU cracks down on Big Tech. What changes for internet users with the Digital Markets Act by Alessandro Longo 07 March 2024
The process and the vote of the Italian parties
The law was initially born from a proposal from the European Commission, on September 16, 2022, in the wake of the deteriorating media situation in Poland and Hungary. Negotiations with the European Parliament on the final form of the regulation begin on 19 October 2023 and end with the provisional agreement, reached on 15 December 2023.
Then, on 13 March 2024, here is the vote of the European Parliament: 464 yes, 92 no and 65 abstentions. The far right said no, because they see “Brussels totalitarianism” at work in the law, which aims at “Orwell’s Ministry of Truth”: “They want to limit freedom of expression – commented Andrea Bocskor, MEP for Fidesz, the party of Viktor Orbán whose violations are in the crosshairs of the law – All this only serves to put pressure on the right a few months before the June elections”.
The Italian parties expressed themselves as follows: yes from Forza Italia, Pd, Verdi and M5Swhile they abstained Brothers of Italy and the League. “Evidently they miss the Soviet Union, for them it is more important to use state TV as an appendix of their propaganda”, quips Laura Ferrara, M5S MEP. Then in the evening the head of the Fratelli d’Italia delegation Carlo Fidanza explains: “With today’s vote we wanted to clarify our desire to do even more to protect freedom of information. We managed to make the final text certainly more concrete and effective, but not enough was done to put in black and white that Emfa should not have the power to harmonize key concepts in the criminal field which are indisputably the responsibility of the member states”.
Reporters Without Borders instead, in the meantime, she is celebrating, as is the speaker Sabine Verheyen (CDU, PPE): “Freedom of the press is threatened throughout the world, including in Europe – he commented – The murder in Malta of Daphne Caruana Galizia, threats to press freedom in Hungary and many other examples clearly demonstrate this. The European Media Freedom Act is our response to this threat and a cornerstone of European legislation.”
Today, @Europarl_EN made history.
The Media Freedom Act will safeguard journalists from interference, protects them from revealing sources & ensures transparency of media ownership.
It fights disinformation.
For Daphne. For Ján. For all journalists threatened.
For democracy. pic.twitter.com/VgEhnafVe8
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) March 13, 2024
The President of Parliament was also satisfied Roberta Metsola:
“Today the European Parliament made history. The Media Freedom Act will safeguard journalists from interference, protect them from having to reveal sources and guarantee the transparency of media ownership. It will fight disinformation, for Dafne, for Jan (Kuciak, ndr) and for all the journalists threatened.”