2023-10-02 22:43:20
The European Parliament votes on Tuesday on a law intended to defend the pluralism and independence of the media as well as the secrecy of sources, a subject at the heart of the news in France with the recent custody of a journalist.
The vote should open the way to negotiations with member states, before final adoption.
This “European Media Freedom Act” was presented by the Commission in September 2022, in the face of the deteriorating situation in EU countries such as Poland and Hungary.
It provides guarantees for the editorial independence of newsrooms vis-à-vis political or economic power and sets transparency obligations on media ownership.
It prohibits member states or private entities from forcing journalists to disclose their sources.
– “Guardrails” –
The version submitted to the vote of MEPs prohibits the detention of journalists linked to their professional activity, searches of documents and searches of their offices or homes “in particular when such actions can lead to access to journalistic sources”. Exceptions to this principle are strictly regulated.
“These safeguards are clearly more protective than French law and provide a level of protection which would have prevented an episode like that of Ariane Lavrilleux from occurring,” Julie Majerczak, director of the Brussels office of Reporters, explains to AFP. without borders (RSF).
Journalist Ariane Lavrilleux, who collaborates with the investigative site Disclose, was placed in police custody for 39 hours on September 19 and 20 and had her home searched, as part of a judicial investigation for compromising defense secrets national. And this following articles on French arms sales abroad and on a French intelligence mission in Egypt that this country allegedly diverted to target and kill opponents.
These provisions intended to protect journalistic work promise difficult discussions with the member states, who adopted their position on this text last June. At the request of France in particular, they insisted on possible exceptions to the provisions of this law in the name of “national security”.
The text also provides that the use of Pegasus-type spyware once morest journalists may be authorized under certain conditions: if it is “justified on a case-by-case basis” and if it is ordered by an independent judicial authority in the part of an investigation for a “serious crime” such as terrorism or human trafficking.
– Spying –
In an open letter, 80 journalists’ organizations and unions called on MEPs to vote for an absolute ban on the use of this “spyware” once morest the press, regretting that the bill allows it in certain circumstances.
“The Media Freedom Act will authorize the spying on journalists in the name of + internal security + at the request of the French government,” denounced Ariane Lavrilleux on X (formerly Twitter), protesting once morest a law that she considers “liberticidal “.
Another controversial point of the legislation: the question of moderation of journalistic content by online platforms.
In order to prevent these platforms from arbitrarily removing or restricting articles or video reports, for example, the law provides for separate treatment for media meeting a certain number of conditions.
These media must be transparent regarding their owners, be editorially independent, be subject to the supervision of a national authority or respect self-regulatory standards, not produce content by an artificial intelligence system without this content having been subjected to human control.
If a platform considers that the content of a media thus recognized violates its rules of use, it must warn it 24 hours before proceeding with a possible suspension or restriction, in order to give it time to defend itself.
Wouter Gekiere, head of the office of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU, an alliance of public service media from 56 countries) in Brussels, welcomed the improvements made by MEPs to the initial text, to “rebalance the relationship between media service providers and large platform operators.
The text also wants to strengthen the independence of public service media by providing that member states finance them through multi-annual budgets.
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