The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) was approved in 2024, with some regulations coming into effect at that time. Today marks the enforcement of the majority of these regulations, with full implementation expected by 2027.
“New rules concerning the transparency of audience measurement systems are coming into effect, which is indeed a notable innovation brought by the EMFA. This area related to audience measurement was not clearly covered by regulatory intervention in the various member states,” explains ERC advisor Carla Martins in an interview.
“We are already familiar with highly regulated or self-regulated audience measurement systems, as the industry has established its standards with regard to television,” says the member of the Regulatory Council of the Social Communication Regulator (ERC).
However, “it is less clear what methods are used in audience measurement on online platforms,” she notes.
Therefore, “this regulation aims to highlight and strengthen the transparency of methodologies in online platform audience measurement,” Carla Martins emphasizes.
Another regulation taking effect today involves rules affecting Public Media Services (SPM).
“This entails ensuring the independence of public media services and governance models, as well as stable financing mechanisms,” she continues.
Rules related to media transparency, including direct and indirect ownership, as well as “principal sources of funding, especially if originating from public entities, national or international,” also come into force today.
“Another important regulation now in effect addresses the differentiated treatment that large online platforms should provide to media content from communication service providers, known as Article 18, which some refer to as the preferential treatment of media outlets,” highlights Carla Martins, in addition to rules concerning regulatory interventions in mergers at both member state and European levels.
Carla Martins also mentions another “quite interesting” regulation that is now effective, referred to as “national measures.”
These are “administrative, regulatory, or legal measures that could negatively impact the independence and pluralism of media organizations, and member states must ensure that if these measures are deemed harmful to independence and pluralism, there is recourse to challenge them, for example, in courts,” the ERC advisor explains.
“Overall, there is a set of significant EMFA regulations now in effect, and in the future, another regulation regarding the personalization of equipment and interfaces to facilitate access to quality media content will also come into force,” she concludes.
The targets here are “the manufacturers of these devices.”
Along the way, other regulations have been implemented, reinforcing cooperation among member states in regulatory matters to enhance effectiveness and the regulation of video-sharing platforms, she recalls.
