EU Parliament approves the Media Freedom Act, enhancing press autonomy, transparency, and protection against state interference and spyware.
The European Parliament granted its final approval on Wednesday to pioneering EU legislation aimed at ensuring the autonomy of newsrooms. The Media Freedom Act – first suggested by the EU executive in September 2022 – was overwhelmingly adopted on Wednesday with 464 votes in favor, 92 against, and 65 abstentions.
The Act will compel EU governments to better safeguard media against malign interference and restrict the use of spyware against journalists. Outlets will also have to transparently declare information about ownership, funding, and state advertising. A custom EU body, called the European Board for Media Services, will be appointed to oversee the implementation of the laws.
Widespread disinformation, absence of transparency on media ownership, and increasing tension among journalists prompted the bloc to interfere with the sweeping new rules. It is the first ever EU regulation to protect the free press, considered a cornerstone of European democracy.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, stated the parliament had “made history” by adopting the Act, and glorified the memory of journalists such as Malta’s Daphne Caruana Galizia and Slovakia’s Ján Kuciak, both killed for speaking truth to power.
Věra Jourová, European Commissioner for Values and Transparency, informed the parliament on Tuesday the law would deliver a “clear message to those who want to weaken democracy.”
“It is a threat to those who want to use the power of the state, also the financial one, to make the media dependent on them,” Jourová stated.
Sabine Verheyen the lead lawmaker on the file, stated shortly before the vote the Act will allow the media to become more autonomous from the influence of state authorities, amid worries of a backsliding on press freedom in several member states. While several northern EU nations, including Ireland, Finland, and Sweden, rank among the world’s top 5 nations for media independence, other countries are following behind. Greece stands at just 107th globally.
Verheyen expressed that the new European Board will be capable of holding both governments and media services to account by pulling up independent opinions and intervening in disputes. The parliament had called for the Board’s secretariat to be unassisted appointed to guarantee independence from the Commission, but this was not achievable due to “legal structures,” she said.
The Parliament had expected the law would introduce a full prohibition on the use of spyware against reporters, in reaction to reports of the use of software such as Pegasus and Predator to hack the equipment of journalists in Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Spain. “We would have liked more powerful wording when it came to spyware, but that wasn’t something we could achieve,” Verheyen acknowledged.
However, a handful of member states – including France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden, and Finland – had called for an exemption permitting governments to tap into exchanges between reporters and their sources in the event of a danger to national security. Verheyen clarified that under the new laws, EU governments will only be capable of using spyware against journalists as a ‘last resort’ mechanism where there is a legal motive.
Journalists whose gear is hacked on national security bases will also need to be fully notified of the steps taken against them, she stated, but assured there would be “no limitations on the investigative functions carried out by journalists.” Dutch MEP Sophie welcomed the new curbs on spyware but cautioned the European Commission not to permit EU governments to continue to sabotage the freedom of the media and the rights of journalists.
“There are lots of states inside the European Union who do not like to be monitored,” she expressed in the parliament Tuesday, urging the Commission to robustly implement the new rules and to prevent member states from ignoring their responsibilities. Responding to her worries, Jourová stated; “We will be monitoring how the member states deal with the clear task of specifying truly independent enforcement bodies.”
