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When:
2025-03-24 @ 11:00 – 12:30
2025-03-24T11:00:00+01:00
2025-03-24T12:30:00+01:00
This EMFA Talk will explore the implementation of Article 6 of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which sets out transparency obligations for media service providers (MSPs) and reinforces editorial independence safeguards. The provision requires MSPs to disclose key ownership and financial information, including their direct and indirect owners and public funding received (para 1). Additionally, it mandates EU Member States to establish national databases on media ownership, improving public access to this data (para 2). Beyond transparency, Article 6 seeks to protect editorial independence by ensuring that MSPs adopt measures to prevent undue interference in their decision-making processes (para 3).
By imposing various transparency obligations on MSPs, Article 6 aligns with different aspects of the principle of transparency. The provision goes beyond addressing the economic, corporate, or criminal dimensions of transparency, which are typically covered by commercial and anti-money laundering laws, such as Directive 2015/849 (Craufurd Smith–Klimkiewicz–Ostling, 2021). Instead, Article 6 incorporates a crucial element of transparency essential to democratic societies—one that empowers individuals to make informed decisions about the exercise of power and holds governments accountable for their actions (Borges and Christophorou, 2024). Thus, the transparency obligations under the EMFA are specifically designed to address media-related concerns, such as strengthening citizens’ right to freely and consciously choose their sources of information, being aware of any potential political or economic bias in media service providers due to their ownership, and enabling journalists, researchers, and national authorities to monitor potential misconduct or abuse of power within the media sector.While Article 6 marks a significant step forward in terms of ownership transparency and editorial independence, several challenges remain regarding its implementation.
First, there is a risk that the provision could be challenged in courts on the grounds of conflicting with other fundamental rights, particularly privacy and the right to private life, similar to the issues raised in Joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20. Second, substantial coordination efforts will be needed from the European Commission and the European Board for Media Services to provide guidance and ensure clarity in implementing the rules at the national level. Lastly, there may still be gaps in information related to news media revenues, as the lack of comprehensive, systematic data on private funding sources could present an incomplete and skewed picture (Borges, 2024). Confirmed speakers are:
Beata Klimkiewicz (Jean Monnet Chair, Jagiellonian University)
Josef Trappel (University of Salzburg)
Rachael Craufurd-Smith (University of Edinburgh)
Eva Simon (Civil Liberties Union for Europe)
Oliver Money-Kyrle (International Press Institute)