Media

Democracy and Digital: trusted media and platform regulation 

Democratic debates require trusted information, less economic pressure on media, and more policy pressure on platforms. Supporting citizens’ choices, three concepts will help the von der Leyen Commission: ‘co-regulation’, ‘trust indicators’, ‘systemic publishing platforms’. This open letter to the new...

The rising clout of digital media and the UK election

Campaigning for the decisive UK election on December 12 is going full tilt. As polarisation over Brexit overshadows Britain’s notoriously hard-to-call ballot, Jess Smee explains the impact of the media and, in particular, of digital channels.

The Brief, powered by CEPI – Survival of the unfittest

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn will face off this evening in the UK’s first presidential-style debate – the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party lost a court battle to be part of it. The BBC and Sky will hold their own debates with all four party leaders.

EU mulls disinformation regulation but admits alert system has ‘never been triggered’

The case for the EU regulation of online disinformation "will be evaluated" in the coming months ahead of a decision in early 2020, a Commission official revealed on Tuesday (29 October). At the same time, the EU's executive conceded that its disinformation alert system has never been triggered.

Copyright directive ‘not in danger’ EU says, following Google backlash

The European Commission has assured those involved that the EU's controversial copyright directive is "not in danger," following Google's announcement that it will avoid renumerating content creators by implementing technical changes to the way it displays news online.

Google wants to bypass France’s neighbouring rights

Google, the American digital giant, does not want to pay its due when the EU copyright directive comes into force in France. The online platform prefers to modify Google News rather than pay online news publishers. EURACTIV France reports.

Cooperation of four key Commissioners needed for healthy media, democracy

Democracy is at risk and requires healthy media, several portfolios from the new EU Commission are relevant. After years of fake news and weak self-regulation, this ecosystem could be rebalanced if four key Commissioners cooperate around the media sector, argues Christophe Leclercq.

France says social media platforms will still sign hate speech pledge

France said it was optimistic that U.S.-based social media platforms including Facebook and Snapchat would still sign a pledge to fight online hate speech despite a last-minute delay.

Investigation of Slovak journalist murder uncovers other serious crimes

A year and a half since the murder of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, prosecutors said that the investigation has uncovered a ring of other crimes, including four murders and planned high-level assassinations.

Malta charges three over Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder

Three men will face trial in Malta for their alleged involvement in the murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia after the island's attorney general issued a bill of indictment against them, court officials said on Tuesday (16 July).

Turkish report ramps up harassment of foreign media

More than 20 human rights and freedom of expression organisations, as well as Turkish opposition, have condemned a report by a Turkish pro-government think tank, which is “blacklisting” journalists working for foreign media.

EU media sector needs a Marshall Plan, experts say

The European Union should establish a type of “Marshall plan” to support the sustainability of the bloc’s media sector, experts and MEPs said during an event organized by Fondation EURACTIV on Tuesday (25 June).

How Czech media reported about the largest protest since 1989

Europeans were stunned by the magnitude of the protests in Prague on Sunday (23 June): reportedly 250,000 people demanded Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to step down over allegations of graft. But what was even more stunning is the way the Czech media reported about them.

MEPs: Demand VP Democracy, after Spitzenkandidaten setback

Last week’s Summit did not retain the principle favoured by the Parliament. Before endorsing the final ‘ticket’ proposed, parliamentary groups can make coalition demands: a new top job could help, for healthy media and sound platforms.

Member states differ in combating disinformation, EU report says

The approach to tackling disinformation across the EU "varies greatly across member states," says a report produced by the outgoing Romanian Presidency. The document was distributed to national delegations ahead of the European Council summit, which concluded that "sustained efforts" were required in the fight against fake news.

MEPs to join forces against disinformation

A number of newly elected members of the European Parliament committed to joining forces in the upcoming five-year term in fighting disinformation, during an event organised by EURACTIV foundation.

Facebook to work with ‘trustworthy’ media after Russian fake news offensive

Facebook said it will enable “trustworthy” news publishers to generate additional revenue on its social media site, following EU accusations of Russian meddling in last month's European election campaign.

The media has a big problem, Reuters Institute says: Who will pay for the news?

News organisations are being challenged by technology giants and unsettled by a broader lack of trust but they have a much deeper problem: most people don't want to pay for online news, the Reuters Institute found.

Freedom of press in Europe no longer self-evident

Up until recently, freedom of press was considered as a self-evidence in Europe. That is no longer the case, especially in several eastern European countries, where journalists have come under severe political pressure.

EU coalition and futureproof media: Europe needs a VP for Democracy

Given difficult elections, the new EU Commission President will need a theme supporting MEPs and Prime Ministers. After years of fake news, platforms’ self-regulation and media crisis, this ecosystem could be rebalanced by a Vice-President for Democracy, Media and Platforms, Christophe Leclercq argues.

Austria’s ‘video crisis’ exposes poor treatment of media – media expert

In an interview with EURACTIV, Reporters Without Borders Austria President and distinguished journalist Rubina Möhring spoke about the effects of the controversial 'Ibiza video' and why Austria is getting ever so close to the Hungarian media model.

Google, Facebook, Twitter rapped for not doing enough in EU fake news fight

Facebook, Google and Twitter were reprimanded by the European Commission on Friday (17 May) for not doing enough to tackle fake news plaguing the election campaign to the European Parliament, seven months after promising to do more.

European election candidates consider next steps for EU media policy

Lead candidates for the upcoming European elections are pondering ways of safeguarding the media sector's integrity in light of persistent economic challenges and emerging threats like Russian disinformation.

Greece threatens to raise Facebook’s fact-checking issue at EU Council

The Greek government has lashed out against Facebook, after the social media platform decided to partner with a “controversial” fact-checker in the country. Athens says it is now prepared to raise the issue at an EU level, unless it gets satisfactory answers.