By Sofía Esther González Zárate
On March 13, 2024, the European Media Freedom Act was published, after undergoing various setbacks during its drafting. Two years earlier, in June 2022, the European Council approved conclusions on how to help professionals. In the months that followed, it delved deeper into promoting media pluralism and independence. All European institutions managed to reach a legislative agreement to protect journalists and human rights defenders against unfounded claims or abusive legal proceedings.
The need for this framework was preceded by threats to the press and freedom of information in recent years. These included the use of Pegasus spyware against activists around the world by governments, foreign interference in democratic processes, and massive disinformation spread by digital platforms. All these precedents highlighted the urgent need for member states to protect information providers and guarantee a free, plural, and independent media ecosystem.
Some of the most public case studies:
Espionage with Pegasus: The case highlighted documented use of Israeli spyware Pegasus against journalists, media outlets, and politicians by the Hungarian and Spanish governments against pro-independence activists. In 2021, the National Court opened proceedings for espionage carried out with this technology sold by the Netanyahu government to the mobile phones of President Pedro Sánchez and several ministers. While the law does not explicitly prohibit the use of such technology for national security reasons, it does establish principles of transparency and public justification that could have helped slow its use without external government control.
Arrest of journalists in Turkey: In March 2024, several journalists covering protests against Erdogan’s rule were arrested. Although Turkey is not part of the EU, it has brought to mind similar situations within member states.
Political pressure on the media in Poland: Until the end of 2023, when the elderly Jaroslaw Kaczynski wielded power behind the scenes, there were several cases of political pressure on public and independent media. The aim was to ensure that state media broadcast positive messages about the government.
What does the law cover?
With its entry into force in 2025, the European Media Freedom Act ensures editorial independence from political or business interference, guarantees transparency in media ownership, protects public media from political interference, and regulates large online platforms, ensuring that content is not unfairly removed, thus giving the media more control over their digital offerings. It also assesses the impact of market concentration on media diversity and pluralism. While the law establishes various safeguards to ensure the safety of journalists, information, and the media, questions remain about its actual enforcement and monitoring.
This legal framework is limited because it establishes that national security with regard to spyware remains the sole responsibility of each member state. This exception would allow EU governments to potentially deploy spyware against journalists under the pretext of national security, thus falling outside the protection of EU law.
This allows states to adopt more detailed and stricter rules with the aim of protecting press freedom and pluralism. The problem arises from the free interpretation that states can give to the law according to their corresponding policies, and from the measures that many states can take to restrict press freedom before the law can be enforced. However, it is said that the European Commission could sanction countries that implement actions that are detrimental to the law and therefore do not comply with it. However, if some national laws of the states do not comply with it, national courts do not have the power to overturn these laws. This could lead to conflicts between the European Commission and Member States in an effort to harmonize national legislation.
The approval of this law shows that there is concern in the EU about protecting press freedom. However, its impact will depend on its correct application and the commitment of Member States to guaranteeing free, pluralistic, and independent journalism.
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This article was originally published on: https://es.ejo-online.eu/ Read the original article here: https://es.ejo-online.eu/latest-stories/ley-de-medios-un-paso-hacia-la-proteccion-de-periodistas-en-la-ue/
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