Regulation 2024/1083 - Common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU (European Media Freedom Act) - Main contents

Official Journal

of the European Union

EN

L series

2024/1083

17.4.2024

Independent media services play a unique role in the internal market. They represent a fast-changing and economically important sector and at the same time provide access to a plurality of views and reliable sources of information to citizens and businesses alike, thereby fulfilling the general interest function of ‘public watchdog’ and being an indispensable factor in the process of the formation of public opinion. Media services are increasingly available online and across borders but are not subject to the same rules and the same level of protection in different Member States. While some matters related to the audiovisual media sector have been harmonised at Union level by means of Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), the scope and matters covered by that Directive are limited. Moreover, the radio and press sectors are not covered by that Directive, despite their increasing cross-border relevance in the internal market.

Given the unique role of media services, the protection of media freedom and media pluralism as two of the main pillars of democracy and of the rule of law constitutes an essential feature of a well-functioning internal market for media services. That market, including audiovisual media services, radio and the press, has substantially changed since the beginning of the 21st century, becoming increasingly digital and international. It offers many economic opportunities but also faces a number of challenges. The Union should help the media sector so that it can seize those opportunities within the internal market, while at the same time protecting the values that are common to the Union and to its Member States, such as the protection of fundamental rights.

In the digital media space, citizens and businesses access and consume media content and services, which are immediately available on their personal devices, increasingly in a cross-border setting. That is the case for audiovisual media services, radio and the press, which are easily accessible through the internet, for example via podcasts or online news portals. The availability of content in a number of languages and the ease with which it can be accessed through smart devices, such as smartphones or tablets, increases the cross-border relevance of media services, as established in a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (5) (the ‘Court of Justice’). That relevance is underpinned by the growing use and acceptance of automatic translation or subtitling tools which reduce the linguistic barriers within the internal market and the convergence of the different types of media, combining audiovisual and non-audiovisual content within the same offering.

However, the internal market for media services is insufficiently integrated and suffers from a number of market failures that have increased due to digitalisation. Firstly, global online platforms act as gateways to media content, with business...