Report: EU Media Freedom Near 'Breaking Point'

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The Facts

  • In its 2024 report, the Berlin-based Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said that media freedom in the EU deteriorated last year, with some nations nearing a "breaking point."

  • The report cited concerns over highly concentrated media ownership, a lack of transparency rules, and threats to public media and its sources of financing. It also reported violence against journalists and refusals to allow journalists access to information.

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

As Europe faces increased threats to a free press, the Media Freedom Act is a desperately needed positive development for both public and independent journalism. It aims to safeguard media pluralism, protect user rights, and ensure the independence of public media services within the European Union — addressing challenges in the evolving digital media landscape.

Pinsent Masons

Establishment-critical narrative

The real reason for the EU's media law is to create a new tool to target EU-skeptical countries like Poland and Hungary. If Brussels cared about fostering a truly free-speech-oriented environment for the public and its press, it wouldn't simultaneously applaud so-called "hate speech laws" that actually criminalize speech. The EU doesn't care about media concentration so long as those outlets align with the bloc's ideology.

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