Press releases
Today, the European Parliament (EP) adopted its report on the EU’s Digital Services Act in plenary. Contrary to the opinions of the Committees on Culture and Education (CULT), Industry, Research and Education (ITRE) and the Legal Committee (JURI), the responsible Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) decided not to include in the Digital Services Act (DSA), a provision that would shed journalistic and editorial media from being unduly deleted from very large online platforms.
The European Magazine Media Association (EMMA) and the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA) recognise the fact that the general provision adopted today which binds the terms and conditions of online platforms to comply with fundamental rights, is better than nothing. We are grateful to all leaders and policy makers that have fought for the safeguard of digital press freedom.
However, we are still concerned that it does not sufficiently safeguard legal press online from undue removal, deletion or other interference by digital distribution channels, such as the large gatekeeper platforms. Taking into account the growing trend of especially younger people accessing and receiving media content practically and exclusively via these social networks, this is a worrying development for digital press and media freedom. The limits of freedom of expression and freedom of the press should be set by our laws and not through the terms and conditions or other narrower standards defined by the platforms.
Now as the final text of the DSA must be negotiated in the trilogue process, EMMA and ENPA call on EU Member States, as well as the EP to make sure that the freedom of the press and freedom of opinion, which has been painstakingly fought for in our democracies, is also duly protected online, at least on those very large digital platforms that are gradually substituting traditional press distribution channels. It must be ensured that what may be distributed offline as legal press can also be so online without any interference by private platforms. Otherwise, the censorship of legal press by digital platforms would mean that digital press freedom would, in a future where platforms play a more and more important role, only exist on paper.
For further information, please contact:
Ilias Konteas
EMMA-ENPA Executive Director
EMMA, the European Magazine Media Association, is the unique and complete representation of Europe’s magazine media, which is today enjoyed by millions of consumers on various platforms, encompassing both paper and digital formats. EMMA represents 15,000 publishing houses, publishing 50,000 magazine titles across Europe in print and digital.
ENPA, the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA) is the largest representative body of newspaper publishers across Europe. ENPA advocates for 16 national associations across 13 European countries, and is a principal interlocutor to the EU institutions and a key driver of media policy debates in the European Union. See: www.enpa.eu/
The European Magazine Media Association, is the unique and complete representation of Europe’s magazine media, which is today enjoyed by millions of consumers on various platforms, encompassing both paper and digital formats.
