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MEP Corina Cretu announced on Tuesday that the European Media Freedom Act, which aims to protect independent journalism and ensure media plurality, was debated during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, and on Wednesday it would be voted on.
"In the continuation of this week's plenary session, the debate took place on the European Media Freedom Act, a regulation that will be voted on tomorrow. This Regulation will provide protection to independent journalism and ensure media plurality, in the context where large platforms have a huge power in terms of the dissemination of information, and the choice of its content. Therefore, mechanisms were introduced to ensure that that content is protected and cannot be restricted or deleted arbitrarily", Corina Cretu wrote on Facebook.
According to the MEP, studies show that most consumers now receive information from the Internet and especially from social media, and that it is a reality that some of these actors represent important sources of disinformation and fake news, which remain largely unregulated.
"To ensure that these platforms do not abusively withdraw the content of independent sources, a mechanism will be created to manage content withdrawal orders. In this situation, the journalist will be notified of the platform's intention to delete the information, along with a period of 24 hours for him to be able to respond. At the same time, in order to increase transparency regarding media ownership, media organizations, regardless of their size, will have to publish information about their owners and report receiving funding from the state," mentioned Corina Cretu.
Also, Cretu emphasized, through this Regulation, the member states will be obliged to protect media independence from any form of governmental, political, economic or private interference.
"All forms of intervention in editorial decisions are prohibited. The efficiency of this Regulation depends on its implementation and here a point of weakness appears - if the freedom of the press is threatened by Governments that do not accept to make the objective of the analysis of the press, the Commission must strictly follow the implementation of this normative act. Protecting journalism and media pluralit
