The European Union wants to enact tougher rules for media groups looking to acquire smaller rivals to ensure the deals preserve press pluralism and safeguard editorial independence, according to the bloc’s draft rules that Reuters had access to.
The Media Freedom Act (MFA), which the European Commission will introduce later this week, comes amid concerns about press freedom in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia.
The EU is also concerned about the allocation of state advertising resources in some countries to government-friendly outlets that can influence the media.
The rules will apply to TV and radio broadcasters, on-demand audiovisual content services, press publications and major online platforms and video sharing platform providers.
They will need to be discussed with EU countries and parliamentarians before they can become law, a process that will likely take more than a year.
Concerns around press freedoms increased ahead of the European Parliament elections in 2024.
Source: CNN Brasil
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