Protection of youth and diversity: EU countries want stricter rules for YouTube & Co.

EU-wide regulations for television and services for video on call must take into account the rapidly changing landscape of the audiovisual media. This is the core message that the EU Council sends to the EU Commission from 2018 in the run-up to the amendment to the Audiovisual Media Services (AVMD). According to the representatives of the member states, the reform should primarily take a look at the rise of influencers, the spread of disinformation and the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI).

In his The Council emphasizes conclusions The decisive role of the AVMD directive to provide an appropriate legal framework for the maintenance and promotion of a “diverse, fair, safe, trustworthy and competitive market for audiovisual media in the EU”.

With their “Netflix quota”, the requirements also contribute to ensuring independent, trustworthy and culturally diverse audiovisual content. The Council emphasizes that the scope of the guideline should be wide, clear and adaptable enough to cover all relevant types of relevant content.

Influencers and professional content developers are now established actors on the market for audiovisual media who have a great influence on public opinion, the government officials establish their initiative. Their services would often be used by children and adolescents. Nevertheless, these players in the internal market have so far been inconsistently classified as a provider in the sense of the directive.

Note journalistic standards

The Council emphasizes that the regulations guarantee a high level of protection for children and adolescents and should take into account the international character of the most commonly used call services. The provisions for platforms for sharing videos such as YouTube and Tiktok should be robust enough “to keep the public from damage and other social risks”. In order to combat disinformation, the use of reliable, pluralistic media would have to be promoted and reinforced.

The operator of video portals do not have any editorial responsibility for the content that is accessible via their services, explains the EU Council. However, they had a decisive influence on the preparation, presentation and visibility of the contributions and partly acted as “gatekeeper”. This could “have a significant impact on public opinion formation”. In view of their influence, they are important to them in the protection of the public in this environment.

According to the paper, the growing problem of disinformation, information manipulation and influence from abroad is “still one of the greatest challenges that European democracies have to overcome”. Global online platforms had business models “which sometimes prevent access to media services and their use”, which could lead to the strengthening of polarizing content. The Council therefore considers a stronger visibility of content created in harmony with journalistic standards as a potentially effective instrument in the fight against “fake news” and propaganda.

Look at sports events “free”

The increased importance of online platforms and video services has led to a decline in the advertising revenues of traditional media. According to the Council, the same competitive conditions could help “that media service providers adequately monetize their content in the context of digital change”. It is also an option to structurally support producers who comply with journalistic standards.