What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. Without prejudice to national constitutional laws consistent with the Charter, media service providers providing news and current affairs content shall take measures that they deem appropriate with a view to guaranteeing the independence of editorial decisions. In particular, such measures shall aim to:

Added:Recital 37 b (new): (37b) Audiovisual media services are subject to various obligations to meet public policy goals such as supporting cultural diversity and a pluralistic media environment. It is therefore essential that devices be designed in such a way that ensures fair access to audiovisual media services in all their diversity, from the perspective of both viewers and media service providers. In that regard, particular attention should be paid to the impact of device manufacturers’ choices with respect to the design of remote controls. Numeric keypads should therefore be standard on television remote controls to avoid users becoming unjustifiably dependent on user interfaces designed by equipment manufacturers.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) guarantee that editors are free to take individual editorial decisions in the exercise of their professional activity, without prejudice to the right of the owner of the media service provider to assume a leading editorial role and to decide on the structure and composition of editorial teams; and

Added:Recital 38: (38) Different legislative, regulatory or administrative measures can negatively affect media pluralism and the editorial independence of media service providers regarding either the provision or the operation of their media services in the internal market. Such measures can take various forms, for example rules to limit the ownership of media companies by other companies active in the media sector or non-media related sectors. They also include decisions related to licensing, such as revoking, or preventing the renewal of, media service providers’ licences or in any way unjustifiably blocking or limiting their ability to broadcast, print or otherwise disseminate content, and decisions related to authorisation or prior notification for media service providers. In order to mitigate their potential negative impact on media pluralism and editorial independence and on the functioning of the internal market for media services and enhance legal certainty, it is important that such measures minimise disruptions to the activities of media service providers and comply with the principles of objective justification, transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality. Any measures that negatively affect media pluralism, editorial independence or the operations of media service providers, including where they are related to the implementation of Union legal acts such as Directive 2010/13/EU, should be communicated to media service providers well in advance of their adoption in order to…

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 3: 3. The obligations under this Article shall not apply to media service providers that are micro-undertakings or small undertakings within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive 2013/34/EU.

Added:Recital 39: (39) It is also key that the Board is empowered to issue an opinion, on its own initiative or at the request of the Commission or the European Parliament, where national measures are likely to affect the functioning of the internal market for media services or to impact media pluralism and editorial independence. This is, for example, the case when a national administrative measure is addressed to a media service provider providing its services towards more than one Member State, or when the concerned media service provider has a significant influence on the formation of public opinion in that Member State. A media service provider individually and directly affected by such a measure should be able to request that the Board draw up an opinion on that measure.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 1: The Board shall act in full independence when performing its tasks or exercising its powers. In particular, the Board shall, in the performance of its tasks or the exercise of its powers, neither seek nor take instructions from any government, Union institution, national institution or body or person. This shall not affect the competences of the national regulatory authorities or bodies in conformity with this Regulation.

Added:Recital 40: (40) Media play a decisive role in shaping public opinion and enabling citizens to access relevant information for participation in democratic processes. This is why Member States should provide for rules and procedures in national law to enable a quality assessment of media market concentrations that could have an impact on media pluralism and editorial independence. Such rules and procedures can have an impact on the freedom to provide media services in the internal market and need to be properly framed and be transparent, objective, proportionate and non-discriminatory. Media market concentrations subject to such rules should be understood as covering those which could result in a single entity controlling or having significant interests in media services which have substantial influence on the formation of public opinion, including very large online platforms carrying content provided by media service providers which control access to and the visibility of the content of media service providers in a given media market, within a media sub-sector or across different media sectors in one or more Member States. An important criterion to be taken into account is the reduction of competing views within that market as a result of the concentration. Moreover, local and regional media market players play a key role in shaping public opinion. It is, therefore, necessary to take into account the sustainability of a strong, pluralistic and well-funded local and regional media ecosyst…

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 4: 4. The Board shall be represented by its Chair. The Board shall elect a Chair and two Vice-Chairs from amongst its members by a two-thirds majority of its members with voting rights. The term of office of the Chair shall be two years.

Added:Recital 41: (41) National regulatory authorities or bodies, or when appropriate self-regulatory bodies, who have specific expertise in the area of media pluralism, should be significantly involved in the assessment of the impact of media market concentrations on media pluralism and editorial independence where they are not the designated authorities or bodies themselves. In order to foster legal certainty and ensure that the rules and procedures are genuinely geared at protecting media pluralism and editorial independence, it is essential that appropriate deadlines and objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate criteria for notifying and assessing the impact of media market concentrations on media pluralism and editorial independence be set out in advance.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 5: 5. The Commission shall designate a representative to the Board. The representative of the Commission may participate in activities and meetings of the Board, without voting rights. The Chair of the Board shall keep the Commission informed about the ongoing and planned activities of the Board and, in particular, on its work programme and main deliverables.

Added:Recital 42: (42) When a media market concentration constitutes a concentration falling within the scope of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/200455 , the application of this Regulation or of any rules and procedures adopted by Member States on the basis of this Regulation should not affect the application of Article 21(4) of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004. Any measures taken by the designated or involved national regulatory authorities or bodies based on their assessment of media market concentrations that could have an impact on media pluralism and editorial independence should therefore be aimed at protecting legitimate interests within the meaning of Article 21(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004, and should be in line with the general principles and other provisions of Union law.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 6: 6. The Board may invite experts and observers to attend its meetings or to participate, on an ad hoc basis, in its work.

Added:Recital 43: (43) The Board should be empowered to provide opinions on draft decisions or opinions by the designated or involved national regulatory authorities or bodies, where the notifiable concentrations may affect the functioning of the internal media market. This would be the case, for example, where such concentrations involve at least one undertaking established in another Member State or operating in more than one Member State or result in media service providers having a significant influence on formation of public opinion in a given media market. Moreover, where the concentration has not been assessed for its impact on media pluralism and editorial independence by the relevant national authorities or bodies, or where the national regulatory authorities or bodies have not consulted the Board regarding a given media market concentration, but that media market concentration is considered likely to affect the functioning of the internal market for media services, the Board should be able to provide an opinion, on its own initiative or upon request of the Commission. In any event, the Commission retains the possibility to issue its own opinions following the opinions drawn up by the Board.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 8: 8. The Board shall adopt its rules of procedure by a two-thirds majority of its members with voting rights. Prior to the adoption of its rules of procedure, the Board shall give the Commission an opportunity to provide comments.

Added:Recital 44: (44) With a view to ensuring pluralistic media markets, the national authorities or bodies and the Board should take account of a set of criteria. In particular, impact on media pluralism should be considered, including notably the effect on the formation of public opinion, taking into account of the online environment. Concurrently, it should be considered whether other media outlets, providing different and alternative content, would still coexist in the given market(s) after the media market concentration in question. Assessment of safeguards for editorial independence should include the examination of potential risks of undue interference by the prospective owner, management or governance structure in the editorial decisions of the acquired or merged entity. The existing or envisaged internal safeguards aimed at preserving independence of the editorial decisions within the media undertakings involved should also be taken into account. Furthermore, the results of the Commission’s annual rule of law reports presented in the chapters on press freedom and the risk assessment carried out annually by media monitoring exercises should be considered in determining the overall climate for media and the effects of the media market concentration in question over media pluralism and editorial independence. In assessing the potential impacts, the effects of the concentration in question on the economic sustainability of the entity or entities subject to the concentration should also b…

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 1: 1. The Board shall have a secretariat, which shall be provided with sufficient budgetary and human resources. The secretariat shall be independent from the Commission and the Member States.

Added:Recital 45: (45) Audience measurement has a direct impact on the allocation and the prices of advertising, which represents a key revenue source for the media sector. It is a crucial tool to evaluate the performance of media content and understand the preferences of audiences in order to plan the future production of content. Accordingly, media market players, in particular media service providers and advertisers, should be able to rely on objective and comparable audience data stemming from transparent, unbiased and verifiable audience measurement solutions. Such solutions should comply with Union data protection and privacy rules. However, certain new players that have emerged in the media ecosystem, such as very large online platforms, provide proprietary measurement services without making available information on their methodologies. This could result in audience data that is not comparable, information asymmetries among media market players and potential market distortions, to the detriment of equality of opportunities for media service providers in the market.

Removed:Article 11 – paragraph 3: 3. The secretariat shall provide administrative and organisational support to the activities of the Board.

Added:Recital 46: (46) In order to enhance the verifiability, comparability and reliability of audience measurement methodologies, in particular online, transparency obligations should be laid down for providers of audience measurement systems that do not abide by the industry benchmarks agreed within the relevant self-regulatory bodies. In principle, audience measurement should be carried out in accordance with widely-accepted industry self-regulatory mechanisms. Under these obligations, such actors, when requested and to the extent possible, should provide advertisers and media service providers or parties acting on their behalf, with information describing the methodologies employed for the measurement of the audience. Such information could consist in providing elements, such as the size of the sample measured, the definition of the indicators that are measured, the metrics, the measurement methods and the margin of error, the measurement period and the coverage of measurement. Furthermore, providers of proprietary audience measurement systems should provide media service providers with anonymised data, including non-aggregated data, in an industry-standard and comparable form. Such data should be at least as granular as data from the industry's recognised self-regulatory mechanisms. The obligations imposed under this Regulation are without prejudice to the right of audiences to the protection of personal data concerning them as provided for by Article 8 of the Charter and Regulation (EU) …

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) advise the Commission, where requested by it or on its own initiative, on regulatory, technical or practical aspects pertinent to the consistent application of this Regulation and implementation of Directive 2010/13/EU as well as all on other matters related to media services within its competence. Where the Commission requests advice or opinions from the Board, it may indicate a time limit, taking into account the urgency of the matter, by which the Board is to respond to the Commission’s request; the Board shall also inform Member States about findings of general interest;

Added:Recital 47: (47) Codes of conduct, drawn up either by the providers of audience measurement systems or by organisations or associations representing them, together with media service providers, their representative organisations, online platforms and other relevant stakeholders, can contribute to the effective application of this Regulation and should, therefore, be encouraged. Self-regulatory mechanisms widely recognised in the media industry have already been used to foster high quality standards in the area of audience measurement. Moreover, such self-regulatory mechanisms, known as joint industry committees, are able to ensure that audience measurement is impartial and audience measurement data are comparable. An inconsistent take-up of such mechanisms among the Member States could negatively impact advertising. The adoption of such mechanisms should therefore be promoted at national level. The further development of self-regulatory mechanisms, including with the assistance of national regulatory authorities or bodies, could be seen as an effective tool for the industry to agree on the practical solutions needed for ensuring compliance of audience measurement systems and their methodologies with the principles of transparency, impartiality, inclusiveness, proportionality, non-discrimination, comparability and verifiability. When drawing up such codes of conduct, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders and notably media service providers account could be taken in particular of …

Removed:Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) when requested by the Commission or on its own initiative, provide opinions on the technical and factual issues that arise with regard to Article 2(5c), Article 3(2) and (3), Article 4(4), point (c) and Article 28a(7) of Directive 2010/13/EU;

Added:Recital 48: (48) Public funds for the purposes of state advertising and purchases are an important source of revenue for many media service providers, providers of online platforms and providers of online search engines, contributing to their economic sustainability. Access to such funds must be granted in a non-discriminatory way to any media service provider, provider of online platforms and provider of online search engines from any Member State which can adequately reach some or all of the relevant members of the public, in order to ensure equal opportunities in the internal market. Moreover, public funds for the purposes of state advertising and purchases from State-affiliated entities such as State-owned companies, particularly in the form of funding or purchasing goods or services, may make media service providers vulnerable to undue state influence or partial interests to the detriment of the freedom to provide services and fundamental rights. Opaque and biased allocation of public funds for the purposes of state advertising and purchases is therefore a powerful tool to exert influence on the editorial freedom of media service providers, ‘capture’ media service providers or covertly subsidise or finance politically captured media service providers to gain unfair political or commercial advantage or favourable coverage. That is why, in order to address such situations, public funds allocated for the purposes of state advertising directed by a public authority or a State-controlled…

Added:Recital 49: (49) In order to ensure undistorted competition between media service providers and to avoid the risk of covert subsidies and of undue political influence on the media, it is necessary to establish common requirements of transparency, objectivity, proportionality and non-discrimination in the allocation of public funds for the purposes of state advertising and purchases to media service providers, to providers of online platforms or to providers of online search engines in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, including the requirement to publish information on the beneficiaries of public funds for the purposes of state advertising and purchases and the amounts spent. It is thus necessary for national regulatory authorities or bodies to monitor and report on the allocation of public funds for the purposes of state advertising and purchases to media service providers, to providers of online platforms and to providers of online search engines. Where requested by national regulatory autorities or bodies, public authorities and state-affiliated entities should provide them with additional information necessary to assess the accuracy of information published and the application of criteria and procedures used for such state public funds. It is important that the Union and the Member States make the necessary information related to public funds for the purposes of state advertising and purchases publicly accessible in an electronic format that is easy to view, access and downl…

Added:Recital 49 a (new): (49a) Emergency messages by public authorities are a necessary form of informing the general public about risks in the event of a natural or health disaster, an accident or any other sudden unforeseen, major incident that could cause harm to significant sections of the population. Emergency situations have the potential to create new or enhance existing vulnerabilities in the media sector. In that context, the allocation of State resources for transmitting emergency messages could make media service providers vulnerable to undue State influence to the detriment of fundamental rights and the freedom to provide services. While emergency situations are becoming increasingly cross-border in nature, the rules on the allocation of State resources differ from one Member State to another, creating fragmentation and legal uncertainty in the internal media market. Therefore, such allocations to media service providers, providers of online platforms and providers of online search engines should follow the same harmonised rules as those for public funds for the purposes of advertising and purchases. Nevertheless, recognising the urgency of taking measures during a crisis period, special provisions should apply in order to allow State authorities and State-owned or State-controlled enterprises and entities to comply with transparency and reporting obligations once the emergency situation has ended.

Added:Recital 50: (50) Risks to the functioning and resilience of the internal media market, including risks of information manipulation and interference, should be regularly monitored as part of the efforts to improve the functioning of the internal market for media services. Such monitoring should aim at providing detailed data and qualitative assessments on the resilience of the internal market for media services, including as regards the degree of existing concentrations of the media market at national and regional level and the risks such concentrations pose to editorial independence and media pluralism. In order to bring clarity to market participants and allow for the monitoring of the functioning of the internal market, while assessing the impact on editorial independence and media pluralism in the Union, it is necessary that the Commission provide an objective overview on existing media market concentrations, both in terms of their contribution to the structure of the media market and to the diversity of media ownership and of their influence on the formation of public opinion in each Member State. Such monitoring should be conducted independently, on the basis of a robust list of key performance indicators, developed and regularly updated by the Commission, in consultation with the Board. Additionally, in order to facilitate the effective application of this Regulation, the Commission should establish a user-friendly alert mechanism to allow media service providers and any relevant i…

Added:Recital 50 a (new): (50a) It is important that the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom in Leipzig and the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom at the European University Institute in Florence be recognised as having relevant expertise in media freedom and pluralism. It is also important that European instruments such as the Euromedia Ownership Monitor be taken into account when dealing with media ownership in Europe.

Added:Recital 51: (51) The Commission should be able to take the necessary actions to monitor the effective implementation of, and compliance with the obligations laid down in, this Regulation. To prepare the ground for a correct implementation of this Regulation, its provisions concerning independent media authorities, the Board and the required amendments to Directive 2010/13/EU (Articles 7 to 12 and 27 of this Regulation) should apply 3 months after the entry into force of the Act, while all other provisions of this Regulation will apply 6 months after the entry into force of this Regulation. In particular, this is needed to ensure that the Board will be established in time to ensure a successful implementation of the Regulation.

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 1: 1. This Regulation lays down common rules for the proper functioning of the internal market for media services, including the establishment of the European Board for Media Services (the ‘Board’), and common basic principles to serve as minimum standards, while ensuring the independence of media services.

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. This Regulation shall not affect:

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new): (aa) competition rules, including those laid down by Regulation (EC) No 139/2004;

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a b (new): (ab) Directive 2001/29/EC;

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a c (new): (ac) Directive 2019/789/EU;

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new): (ba) rules laid down by Directive 2010/13/EU;

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point d: (d) rules laid down by Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point e: (e) rules laid down by Regulation (EU) 2022/1925;

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point f a (new): (fa) rules laid down by Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a; / 1a Directive 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 17).

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point f b (new): (fb) Directive (EU) xxx/ XXX of the European Parliament and of the Council on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings (“Strategic lawsuits against public participation”).

Added:Article 1 – paragraph 3: 3. This Regulation shall not affect the possibility for Member States to adopt more detailed or stricter rules in the fields covered by Chapter II, Section 5 of Chapter III and Article 24, provided that those rules comply with Union law.

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1: (1) ‘media service’ means a service as defined by Articles 56 and 57 of the Treaty, where the principal purpose of the service or a dissociable section thereof consists in providing programmes or press publications, or excerpts from them, to the general public, by any means, in order to inform, entertain or educate, under the editorial responsibility of a media service provider;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2: (2) ‘media service provider’ means a natural or legal person, whose professional activity, regardless of whether, in the case of a natural person, it is exercised in a standard or non-standard form of employment, is to provide a media service and who has editorial responsibility for the choice of the content of the media service and determines the manner in which it is organised;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3: (3) ‘public service media provider’ means a media service provider which is entrusted with a public service remit under national law or receives national public funding for the fulfilment of such a remit;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7: (7) ‘editor-in-chief’ means a natural person or a number of natural persons possibly grouped in a body, regardless of its legal form, status and composition, that takes or supervises editorial decisions within a media service provider;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8: (8) ‘editorial decision’ means a decision taken on a regular basis for the purpose of exercising editorial responsibility of a media service provider;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9: (9) ‘editorial responsibility’ means the exercise of effective control both over the selection of the programmes or the content of press publications and over their organisation, for the purposes of the provision of a media service, regardless of the existence of liability under national law for the service provided;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new): (9a) ‘online platform’ means online platform as defined in Article 3, point (i), of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 b (new): (9b) 'online search engine’ means online search engine as defined in Article 3, point (j) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10: (10) ‘provider of very large online platform’ means a provider of an online platform that has been designated as a very large online platform pursuant to Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new): (10a) ‘provider of a very large online search engine’ means a provider of an online search engine that has been designated as a very large online search engine pursuant to Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12: (12) ‘national regulatory authority or body’ means an authority or body designated by Member States pursuant to Article 30 of Directive 2010/13/EU;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12 a (new): (12a) 'user interface' means a service that provides an overview of media services provided by individual or multiple media service providers and that enables a user to select media services or applications that essentially serve to provide access to media services and to control or manage access to, and the use of, media services;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 13: (13) ‘media market concentration’ means a concentration as defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 involving at least one party in the media value chain;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 13 a (new): (13a) ‘media pluralism’ means a variety of voices, analyses and opinions in public discourse, including minority positions and opinions, disseminated in an unimpeded way by media service providers which are in the hands of many different owners, each independent from one another, across different media channels and media genres and the recognition of the co-existence of private commercial media service providers and public service media providers;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 14: (14) ‘audience measurement’ means the activity of collecting, interpreting or otherwise processing data about the number and characteristics of users of media services and of users of online platforms for the purposes of decisions regarding advertising allocation, prices, purchases and sales, or the planning or distribution of media services;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 14 a (new): (14a) 'proprietary audience measurement’ means audience measurement which does not follow industry standards agreed by self-regulatory mechanisms covering media service providers;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 15: (15) ‘State advertising’ means the placement, promotion, publication or dissemination, in any media service, online platform or online search engine, of a promotional or self-promotional message, normally in return for payment or for any other consideration, by, for or on behalf of any Union, national or regional public authority, such as Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, national, federal or regional governments, regulatory authorities or bodies as well as state-owned enterprises or other state-controlled entities at the national or regional level, or any local government;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 15 a (new): (15a) ‘emergency message by a public authority’ means the placement, publication or dissemination, in any media service, of a message of informative nature considered necessary by a public authority in the event of natural or sanitary disasters, accidents, other sudden incidents or critical situations that could cause harm to individuals;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 16: (16) ‘surveillance technology' means a digital or mechanical instrument or product or another instrument or product that enables the acquisition of information by intercepting, monitoring, extracting, collecting or analysing data without the natural or legal person concerned being made aware in a specific manner and having given their express specific consent, in accordance with the conditions for consent set out in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, in that regard;

Added:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 16 a (new): (16a) ‘spyware’ means any surveillance technology with a high level of intrusiveness resulting, in particular, from the extensive access it can offer to devices and their functionalities, typically designed to exploit vulnerabilities in products with digital elements that enables the extensive covert surveillance of natural or legal persons, including retroactively, by monitoring, extracting, collecting or analysing data from such products or from the natural or legal persons using such products, including in an indiscriminate manner, without the natural or legal person concerned being made aware in a specific manner and having given their express specific consent, in accordance with the conditions for consent set out in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, in that regard;