The Duties of Media Service Providers under the European Media Freedom Act

Koltay, András and Szikora, Tamás (2026) The Duties of Media Service Providers under the European Media Freedom Act. COMMUNICATIONS LAW, 31 (3). pp. 119-124. ISSN 1746-7616

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Abstract

The media are subject to certain obligations in the interests of fostering democratic public opinion and providing citizens with reliable information; on this basis, EU legislators, whilst affirming media freedom, have devoted a separate article to the obligations incumbent upon media service providers. Trust in the media requires, and the realisation of media pluralism presupposes, public awareness of a given media outlet’s ownership structure and the identity of its backers. Such transparency is not only in the public interest - it can also provide the regulator with essential information for monitoring compliance with legal requirements governing the operation of the media (eg, in eliminating undesirable political influence, or in enforcing rules designed to prevent concentration in the media market). Another set of obligations concerns the institutional safeguarding of editorial freedom: the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) sets out the expectations that media owners must have of their own employees, on the basis of which journalists - in line with editorial policy - are free to make day-to-day decisions according to their professional judgement.

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