European Commission: Green Paper on a Fully Converged Audiovisual World

IRIS 2013-6:1/5

Rutger de Beer

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

On 24 April 2013, the European Commission announced the adoption of a Green Paper on “Preparing for a Fully Converged Audiovisual World: Growth, Creation and Values”. The aim of the Green Paper is to foster public discussion on the implications of the on-going transformation of the audiovisual media landscape, which is characterised by a steady increase in the convergence of media services and the way in which these services are consumed and delivered. The Commission decided to initiate this discussion due to the fact that convergence will become gradually more tangible over the next decade and it may have an impact in the future on a number of legal instruments including the Audiovisual Media Services Directive or AMVSD (2010/13/EU), E-Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC), Universal Services Directive (2002/22/EC) and Access Directive (2002/19/EC). The Green Paper queries whether the process of convergence in a larger European market can be transformed into economic growth and business innovation, and whether the process of convergence will have an impact on established European values.

The Commission firstly states that key elements such as a big enough market to grow, a competitive environment, a willingness to change business models, interoperability and an adequate infrastructure should be put into place while fostering the values underpinning the regulation of audiovisual media services in order to shape the future of media driven by the internet. In light of economic growth and business innovation, the Commission discusses market considerations, financing models, interoperability of connected TV, infrastructure and spectrum. The Commission poses questions for public consultation on, inter alia, competition issues, promotion of European works, international fragmentation in the EU market, relevance of infrastructural differences between platforms and frequency allocation models.

Subsequently, the Commission takes several values into account that underpin the regulation of audiovisual media services in Europe. The Commission highlights core values such as freedom of expression, media pluralism, the promotion of cultural diversity, protection of personal data as well as the protection of consumers, including vulnerable groups such as minors and persons with disabilities. The Commission discusses the European regulatory framework, media freedom and pluralism, commercial communications, protection of minors and accessibility for persons with disabilities in the light of the core values as stated above. The Commission poses questions for public consultation on, inter alia, broadening the scope of the AVMSD, the relationship between the AMVSD and the E-Commerce Directive, filtering mechanisms, the scope of the Universal Services Directive and Access Directive, the scope for self/co-regulation with regard to changing advertising techniques, awareness of parental control tools, measures for effective age verification, complaints-handling mechanisms and additional standardisation efforts in the field of accessibility for persons with disabilities.

All stakeholders are invited to submit responses to the different policy questions set out in the Green Paper before 31 August 2013.