European Media Freedom Act: EBU's position for trilogue negotiations

The EBU welcomes the aim of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) to promote the independence and pluralism of media in Europe. The European Commission, Council and Parliament have each tabled their proposals, and the final 'trilogue' negotiations have started. In this publication, we outline the specific amendments that need to be adopted with safeguards both online and offline for independent public service media. Specifically, the final EMFA must have:

• greater protection of journalists and their sources (Article 4)
• independence through safeguards that will shield public service media from government interference, whether via their editorial line, their management boards, or their funding (Article 5)
• a clear procedure that will generate a productive dialogue between large online platforms and regulated media providers concerning tampering with content (Article 17)
• the clear attribution of editorial responsibility for media content when presented to audiences through device manufacturers and user interfaces (Article 19)
• that large platforms must share audience measurement data with the media outlets (Article 23)

The EMFA is the opportunity to draw a line in the sand to protect public service media's mandate to inform, educate, and entertain every citizen with the highest quality content.