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The EU’s landmark Media Freedom Act (EMFA) entered into force Friday, with the aim of providing better protection for the press and making media ownership more transparent.
The law also aims to limit the use of spyware against journalists, enhance the transparency of state advertising, and strengthen the independence of public media.
The new rules also increase protection for journalists and for their sources. Social media platforms should also refrain from arbitrarily deleting or restricting content from independent media under the new regime.
The law was drafted by the European Commission and supported overwhelmingly by the European Parliament in a plenary vote in 2024.
“With the European Media Freedom Act entering into application, media and journalists across the EU gain unprecedented safeguards, and citizens can trust that the news they receive is driven by facts, not by business or political agenda,” European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law Michael McGrath said.
“The entry into application of the EMFA is a landmark for press freedom in the EU. But its true value will be measured in action, not words,” said Sabine Veheyen, a German EPP MEP, who chairs Parliament’s working group scrutinising the law’s implementation.
“Now begins the real work: ensuring every member state implements the EMFA fully and faithfully. Media freedom is not negotiable – it is the backbone of our democracy,” Veheyen added.
Nela Riehl, a German MEP from the Greens/EFA group and the chair of the Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, said member states should adhere to the rules.
“With the Media Freedom Act, Europe has set the benchmark for the protection of press freedom and journalistic work. This is a great achievement,” Riehl said.
“But it is only meaningful if we adhere to it. I am looking with concern at the decline in press freedom in different parts of Europe and call on all member states to implement it dutifully.”
The European Commission proposed the new rules against a backdrop of declining media freedom in many member states.
Recent EU rule of law reports have highlighted ongoing concerns about media freedom and pluralism across the EU, noting a worrying decline in media freedom and safety of journalists in some member states, notably in Hungary, Poland and Greece.
Meanwhile, investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta and Ján Kuciak in Slovakia were assassinated because of their work within the last eight years.
Under the new rules, governments may only use spyware on journalists as a last resort, if national security is in danger. Earlier, both Hungary and Poland allegedly used Pegasus spyware on journalists.
A new EU body, called the European Board for Media Services, will oversee the implementation of the laws. The Media Freedom Act is the first-ever EU regulation related to the press.
