Slovenia

[SI] New Law on Media adopted by Parliament

IRIS 2025-9:1/17

Deirdre Kevin

COMMSOL

On 2 September 2025, the Slovenian Assembly adopted the long-awaited Law on Media.

A draft media law was published for consultation on 12 December 2023 (see IRIS 2024-2:1/9). Following this, the hearing of the draft in the National Assembly was planned to take place in September or October 2024 (according to the European Commission's 2024 Rule of Law Report on Slovenia). The government approved the new Law on Media on 31 December 2024 and submitted it to the National Assembly for consideration. The proposal was removed from its final reading in Parliament in May 2025 while the legislative procedure was ongoing (according to the European Commission 2025's Rule of Law Report on Slovenia). This was due to the Assembly requiring that additional consideration be given to the comments that were submitted after the second reading of the bill in the National Assembly.

Overall, the final Law on Media is substantially the same as the December 2023 draft, with some changes.

The Law implements several areas of the European Media Freedom Act and aims to protect freedom of expression and the independence of the media. It regulates the editorial and journalistic autonomy of the media and the protection of sources of information. The law prohibits the installation of intrusive surveillance software on any device used by media professionals, unless such a measure is applied on the basis of a court decision (Article 6).

Article 12 defines "public interest in the field of media" while Article 13 deals with the financial support for the media. The funds shall be used, inter alia, for: the creation of programme content in the public interest (funded with 1% of the contribution to RTV Slovenia); the activity of programmes with the status of special importance (funded with 3% of the contribution to RTV Slovenia); the creation and dissemination of programming content (by representative disability organisations) intended for people with disabilities. In addition, funds can be used for financial support for the digital transition of print media (Article 16), and financial support for digital media (Article 17).

Strict exclusion criteria are included regarding access to support funding: media which already receive the majority of their finances from public funds will not be eligible for this kind of aid, nor will outlets owned by local communities or political parties. To qualify, an outlet would need to have at least three staff members, full-time or freelance. In addition, applicants should have fulfilled legal, financial and contractual obligations. Applicants are also restricted where they have been found to be in violation of the prohibitions of incitement discrimination, violence and war, as well as inciting hatred and intolerance, and those media outlets found to have violations with regard to employment rights will also be restricted with regard to applying for funds. On 1 October 2025, the Ministry of Culture published Draft Regulation for public consultation (until 12 October) that specifies, in more detail, the conditions and criteria for granting state aid to the media.

In relation to media concentration, the Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for the Protection of Competition (AVK) will be responsible for assessing concentrations in the media market.

Regarding the Media Register, the Ministry of Culture will continue to manage this and it will include data such as the name of the media outlet, the publisher, and data on the owner and financing. The register will also include the names and surnames of all direct or indirect owners of the publisher, if these owners are natural persons, or the company name and registered office of all direct or indirect owners of the publisher, if these are legal entities.

The register will now include details on public funds received by the publisher including funds received from state advertising, and the total annual amount of advertising revenue received by the publisher from public entities or from third countries.

The new law also regulates the activities of influencers, defined as creators of online content who publish on online platforms or video-sharing platforms, including podcasts and whose purpose is to influence society, public opinion or the personal opinion of individuals and the public through their posts, and whose posts may also have an economic interest in order to monetize the content. Influencers are individuals who periodically publish content and have a minimum of 10,000 users (subscribers, followers, etc.). Influencers are not required to register but they are subject to rules on the disclosure of conflicts of interest, the prohibition of incitement to violence or hatred and incitement to commit terrorist crimes, the protection of minors, and rules on audiovisual commercial communications.

In addition, the Law introduces the regulation of media content created by artificial intelligence (AI), requiring that content that has used generative AI be labelled appropriately. The media are required to inform audiences about the ways in which they use generative AI.