IRIS newsletter 2024-9
Publisher:
European Audiovisual Observatory
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Executive Director: Susanne Nikoltchev
Maja Cappello, Editor • Sophie Valais, Amélie Lacourt, Justine Radel, Deputy Editors (European Audiovisual Observatory)
Documentation/Press Contact: Alison Hindhaugh
Tel.: +33 (0)3 90 21 60 10
E-mail: alison.hindhaugh@coe.int
Translations:
Sabine Bouajaja, European Audiovisual Observatory (co-ordination) • Paul Green • Marco Polo Sarl • Nathalie Sturlèse • Brigitte Auel • Erwin Rohwer • Sonja Schmidt • Ulrike Welsch
Corrections:
Sabine Bouajaja, European Audiovisual Observatory (co-ordination) • Sophie Valais and Amélie Lacourt • Linda Byrne • Glenn Ford • David Windsor • Aurélie Courtinat • Barbara Grokenberger
Web Design:
Coordination: Cyril Chaboisseau, European Audiovisual Observatory
ISSN 2078-6158
© 2024 European Audiovisual Observatory, Strasbourg (France)
Editorial
The sky is grey, the leaves are falling, tea is brewing, and the IRIS newsletter is ready for your perusal, filled with all the essential ingredients for a perfect autumnal information diet.
At this time of year, platforms are under the microscope, as Code of Practice signatories report on their efforts to combat disinformation, and the Irish regulator scrutinises the compliance of several platforms with their obligations under the DSA.
Meanwhile, the presence of influencers on some of these platforms has prompted some action at national level, with the Bulgarian regulator clarifying new legislation banning gambling advertising and the Netherlands pushing to protect children from influencer advertising. And speaking of the little ones, Italy has taken a stand to protect minors from pornographic content with the adoption of a regulation on age verification.
But as you know, protection is not just for the young, and the spotlight on AI is leading to more measures aimed at protecting the public at large. Since the AI Act came into force, around a hundred companies have signed the AI Pact launched by the EU Commission, although some of the tech giants including X, Meta and Apple, have not joined their ranks.
Enjoy the read (and the tea)!
Maja Cappello, Editor
European Audiovisual Observatory
International
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
CoE: Parliamentary Assembly
PACE resolution on propaganda and freedom of information in Europe
On 1 October 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on propaganda and freedom of information in Europe. The resolution is the result of a few years of work by the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, notably following the motion for a resolution from August 2022 (Document 15594), which expressed the need to develop legal criteria allowing the identification of propaganda, which should be prohibited in Council of Europe member states. The resolution sets out the balance between countering harmful and illegal propaganda and the...
Republic of Türkiye
European Court of Human Rights: Gümüş v. Türkiye
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in a judgment of 9 July 2024, found a violation by the Turkish authorities of the right to freedom of expression of political speech via social media as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case concerns the conviction of Mr Suphi Gümüş resulting in a prison sentence combined with a measure of suspension of the pronouncement of the judgment on account of content he posted on Facebook. Referring to its judgment in the case of Durukan and Birol v. Türkiye (IRIS 2023-10:1/22) the ECtHR found that...
EUROPEAN UNION
EU: Court of Justice of the European Union
EUCJ judgement: implications for data privacy and targeted advertising on social platforms
On 4 October 2024, the European Union Court of Justice (EUCJ) delivered a ruling against Facebook in a case brought by Austrian user Maximilian Schrems (plaintiff). The court scrutinised Facebook's business model, which relies on processing personal data to deliver targeted advertising. Since November 2023, Facebook’s terms of use have stated that users opting for a free service in lieu of a subscription effectively consent to having their personal data used for more relevant advertising. The case highlighted Facebook's use of sensitive personal data related to Schrems'...
EU: European Commission
Latest reports under the Code of Practice on Disinformation detailing platform measures during 2024 European Parliament elections
On 24 September 2024, signatories of the Code of Practice on Disinformation published reports detailing their actions to combat the spread of disinformation online, with a particular focus on the European Parliament elections held in June 2024. The Code of Practice on Disinformation was first adopted in 2018 by various industry players, including online platforms, as a self-regulatory standard to tackle online disinformation in the EU; the Code was revised in 2022, and currently has 34 signatories (IRIS 2021-6/4). The Code of Practice contains 44 commitments and 128 specific measures, covering...
EU: European Commission
X, Meta and Apple refuse to sign European Commission’s AI Pact complementing the EU AI Act
In August 2024, the European Commission launched the AI Pact, a new initiative aimed at further developing AI regulation. Designed to promote ethical and responsible AI development, the Pact is an additional tool to help companies adapt to the new European AI regulations that came into force in August. It calls on AI developers to voluntarily adopt the key obligations set out in the regulations ahead of the legal deadline. For more information about the process for adopting the AI Act, see IRIS 2024-6:1/3. The Pact will be progressively applied alongside the regulations themselves. However,...
NATIONAL
Bulgaria
[BG] The NRA clarifies new legislation on the ban of gambling advertising
In a recent decision of the Национална агенция за приходите (the National Revenue Agency – NRA), the regulatory body provided clarifications on the interpretation of the latest amendments to the Bulgarian Закона за хазарта (Gambling Act) concerning the ban of gambling advertising (see IRIS 2024-6:1/18). Historically, the origins of these legislative changes date back to August 2022, when a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Съвет за електронни медии (Council for Electronic Media – CEM) and the NRA. This collaboration stemmed from growing concerns over aggressive gambling...
Germany
[DE] Court rejects party’s request to participate in public broadcaster’s election programme
In a summary judgment of 13 September 2024 (case No. 3 S 103/24), the Oberverwaltungsgericht Berlin-Brandenburg (Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court – OVG) upheld the lower-instance court’s decision that the Freie Demokratische Partei (Free Democratic Party – FDP) was not entitled to take part in an election programme to be broadcast by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) in the run-up to the Brandenburg state parliament election under the principle of equal opportunities for political parties. It ruled that, in accordance with its editorial freedom, rbb could exclude...
[DE] Federal Supreme Court rules on admissibility of online display of protected works in the background of video posts
In various judgments issued on 11 September 2024 (case Nos. I ZR 139/23; I ZR 140/23; I ZR 141/23), the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court – BGH) decided that the use of images of a photo wallpaper on the Internet did not infringe rights protected under the Urheberrechtsgesetz (Copyright Act – UrhG) to the photographs printed on the wallpaper. The court examined in particular whether influencers could breach copyright law if protected works that they had no right to communicate to the public were visible in the background of videos or still images that they published in social...
[DE] Merger of Super RTL and Nickelodeon aborted due to impact on children’s advertising market
On 17 September 2024, the notification of the planned merger between children’s TV channels Super RTL and Nickelodeon was withdrawn. The Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartels Office – BKartA), the competition authority responsible for mergers, had expressed concerns over negative effects on the children’s advertising market and was planning to block the merger. The German state media authorities, represented by the Kommission zur Ermittlung der Konzentration im Medienbereich (Commission on Concentration in the Media – KEK), were consulted by the Federal Cartels Office for the...
Spain
[ES] The Council of Ministers approves the Action Plan for Democracy, which includes the creation of a media register
On 17 September, the Spanish government presented its Action Plan for Democracy after it had been approved by the Council of Ministers. This Action Plan for Democracy, announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez last July, consists of 31 measures to be implemented over the next three years. It is structured around three main axes: 1) improving government information; 2) strengthening transparency, plurality and responsibility in the media; and 3) reinforcing the transparency of the legislative branch and the electoral system. The measures announced under the second axis are in line with...
France
[FR] Rejection of urgent appeal by C8, NRJ12 and Le Média against ARCOM’s decision to refuse DTT licence applications
In a press release dated 24 July 2024, the Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique (the French audiovisual regulator – ARCOM) announced which broadcasters had been preselected for the reallocation of 15 DTT frequencies in 2025, rejecting the renewal applications of the channels NRJ12 and C8, as well as the application submitted by Le Média. In separate appeals, the rejected companies asked the interim relief judge of the Conseil d'Etat (Council of State) to stay the execution of the decision announced in the ARCOM press release. The...
[FR] Influencer Inoxtag's documentary infringes French windows rules
On 13 September 2024, French influencer Inoxtag released a documentary on his ascension of Mount Everest. “Kaizen” premiered in 500 cinemas, attracting 300 000 viewers on the night of its release. A day later, on 14 September 2024, it was released on YouTube, raising eyebrows among media experts – many of whom considered that this early release on YouTube broke the rules on release windows. It was then shown on TF1 on 8 October 2024. National rules governing the exhibition of movies normally do not allow for a documentary specifically meant to be released on YouTube to be...
United Kingdom
[GB] GB News may face statutory sanctions for breaches of due impartiality rules
An Ofcom investigation concluded that GB News' "People’s Forum: the Prime Minister" (the Programme) broadcast on 12 February 2024 broke broadcasting due impartiality rules (see IRIS 2024-6). Subsequently, on 4 October 2024, Ofcom indicated that its initial view is that this represents serious and repeated breaches by GB News of the impartiality rules. Ofcom is starting the process to determine whether a statutory sanction against GB News should be applied. The Sanction Panel will reconsider this initial determination about the Programme which comprised a live, hour-long...
Ireland
[IE] Comisiún na Meán designated as competent national authority under the the Terrorist Content Online Regulation
On 27 September 2024, the Irish Minister for Justice commenced Part 7 of the Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024, which amends the Broadcasting Act 2009, to designate Comisiún na Meán (“the Commission”), the Irish media regulator, as the competent national authority under Regulation (EU) 2021/784 on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online (“the Terrorist Content Online Regulation”). As a result of this commencement, the Commission is now empowered to investigate and sanction infringements...
[IE] Irish regulator adopts Online Safety Code
The Irish regulator, Coimisiún na Meán (the Commission), adopted the final Online Safety Code (the Code) on 10 October and published it on 21 October, completing the Commission's overall online safety framework. This framework makes digital services accountable for how they protect users, and in particular children, from harm online. It comes in response to Section 139K of the Broadcasting Act 2009, and is designed to ensure that VSP providers take reasonable steps to provide the protections set out in Article 28b(1)(a), (b) and (c) and Article 28b(2), including the measures...
[IE] Review of online platforms’ compliance with EU Digital Services Act
On 12 September 2024, Coimisiún na Meán (“the Commission”), the Irish media regulatory authority, announced the commencement of a formal review of online platforms’ systems to ensure that platforms are complying with their obligations under Articles 12 and 16 of the EU Digital Services Act (“DSA”). Under Article 12 of the DSA, providers of intermediary services (mere conduits, caching services and hosting services) are obliged to designate a single point of contact to enable users to communicate directly and rapidly with them by electronic means and in a user-friendly...
Italy
[IT] AGCOM adopts draft regulation on age verification
On 24 September 2024, the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM) approved the regulatory framework governing technical and procedural methods for verifying users' age (age assurance, or age verification), as outlined in Article 13-bis of Decree-Law No. 123 of 15 September 2023, converted with amendments by Law No. 159 of 13 November 2023 (the so-called Decreto Caivano). More specifically, Article 13-bis of the Decreto Caivano (Provisions for Age Verification for Access to Pornographic Websites) introduced a prohibition in Italian law on minors accessing pornographic content, as such content...
Netherlands
[NL] Dutch regulators recommend new measures to protect children from influencer advertising
On 7 October 2024, the Samenwerkingsplatform Digitale Toezichthouders (Dutch Digital Supervisory Cooperation Platform – SDT), which is comprised of four major Dutch regulatory authorities, published a significant recommendation that additional measures are needed to protect children and young people from social media influencer marketing. The SDT is an important regulatory cooperation platform established in 2022 by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, the Dutch Data Protection Authority, and the Dutch Media Authority...
[NL] Draft Regulation on exemption from investment obligation for on-demand audiovisual media services
On 1 October 2024, the Commissariaat voor de Media (Dutch Media Authority – CvdM) published an important draft regulation on exemption from the investment obligation for on-demand audiovisual media services. This follows the enactment of an amendment to the Dutch Media Act requiring streaming platforms – with an annual Dutch turnover of more than EUR 10 million – to invest 5% of that turnover in Dutch audiovisual productions such as series, films and documentaries (see IRIS 2024-1/15, IRIS 2023-7/10 and IRIS 2022-8/16). The new draft regulation contains rules on how exemptions...
[NL] The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets publishes the DSA Guidelines for providers of intermediary services
On 12 September 2024, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (Autoriteit Consument en Markt – ACM) published its Guidelines on due diligence obligations for providers of intermediary services under the Digital Services Act (DSA). These Guidelines aim to assist Dutch companies in navigating the complex legal landscape introduced by the DSA. They are also expected to facilitate the implementation and enforcement of the DSA in the Netherlands. The provisions of the DSA have applied to all providers of intermediary services since 17 February 2024. However, much uncertainty...
Norway
[NO] Norwegian Media Authority: Visualising main findings from the Code of Practice on Disinformation
The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Code of Practice on Disinformation (CoP) include transparency measures for search engines, social media, and other online platforms. Signing the CoP is voluntary but is considered a risk mitigation measure based on the systemic risk provisions of Articles 34 and 35 of the DSA. The Norwegian Media Authority (NMA) has assessed the three first status reports from major providers and services, such as Google (YouTube, Google Advertising), Meta (Instagram, Facebook), ByteDance (TikTok), and Microsoft (LinkedIn, Microsoft Advertising). The NMA has published...
Portugal
[PT] Linear television channels comply with accessibility measures; video-on-demand operators lack an ambitious attitude
The Portuguese audiovisual linear services fulfilled their obligations in 2023 regarding accessibility measures for audiences with special needs. A recent report by the Portuguese Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC) assessed the level of compliance with the multi-annual plan that entered into force in January 2022 and found that some objectives had even been exceeded. A less favourable scenario exists with regard to on-demand audiovisual services, as no significant development was documented in 2023 regarding the previous year. Following the implementation of the Audiovisual...
United States of America
[US] California Governor vetoes AI safety bill
On 7 February 2024, Senator Scott Wiener introduced the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (SB 1047). Further information about this bill can be found in IRIS 2024-7:1/3. The Senate adopted it with a majority of 32 votes to 1 on 21 May 2024. In response to industry advice, Wiener substantially amended the bill on 15 August 2024. The amendments included various clarifications and the removal of the proposal to create a Frontier Model Division and the penalty for perjury. On 28 August, the bill was adopted by the State Assembly by 48 votes to 16. Then,...
