ARTICLE 19

EU Legislative Interests

ARTICLE 19 is primarily following implementation and enforcement developments concerning the Digital Services Act ('DSA'), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the anti-SLAPPs Directive (as part of work related to protection of the media, in particular the EU Democracy Action Plan and Rule of Law mechanism). We have been especially active in inputting to the legislative process of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and will pay attention to specific articles of interest during its implementation phase. We follow developments on competition issues as relevant to digital and social media markets and engage with BEREC and BEUC. More generally our focus is on laws that can have an impact on freedom of expression and digital rights.

Communication Activities

ARTICLE 19 seeks to respond to consultations on the files that are relevant to our areas of interest. We have produced policy recommendations for the DSA that we have shared with relevant Commission officials and MEPs, and we have responded to several consultations on the DSA, on a competition tool and most recently as part of a joint submission with likeminded orgs to DG Comp on generative AI. We have also responded to a proposal for an initiative for greater transparency in political content (together with EPD). On media freedom, we have worked closely with other civil society organisations (CSOs) throughout the legislative process of the European Media Freedom Act. In September 2023 we co-hosted a breakfast session in the European Parliament for MEPs and relevant Commission officials and have co-authored an op-ed on the importance of the EMFA for media pluralism and media freedom on the Euractiv website. We have also signed on to letters relative to the DSA/DMA that have been sent to Commissioners and other EU actors. As members of EDRi, we also contribute to their work on various digital rights files that are relevant to our own priorities. In addition to digital rights, we also engage in advocacy activities around the EU Democracy Action Plan. As part of this work, we have been engaging with Commissioner Vera Jourová and her cabinet during the legislative process for the anti-SLAPPs Directive. We also engage with the EEAS and their work and receive project funding from the EU for the defence of freedom of expression in Turkey and the Western Balkans. Moving forward and into the next Commission terms, we plan to continue to engage with the European Parliament, the European Council and the Commission on the implementation and enforcement of the DMA, DSA, EMFA, AI Act, anti-SLAPPs Directive as well as following actions of DG COMP given work we are doing as part of an anti-monopoly coalition with other organisations. Once the new Commission is in place, we will be following the commissioners and the cabinets of DG COMP, the Internal Market and Values and Transparency and others as appropriate. In 2024 we will also host for the second time a symposium on DMA enforcement and which will bring together academics (after a call for papers has been responded to and evaluated by an independent scientific committee), representatives from member state NCAs and Commission officials to discuss in a closed setting particular aspects of DMA enforcement and implementation. We will also organise events with partners in Brussels on files of relevance to our work. Our recommendations for the DSA can be found here: https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ARTICLE-19s-Recommendations-for-the-EU-Digital-Services-Act-FINAL.pdf Sample of our work on the DMA: https://www.article19.org/resources/eu-dma-needs-to-shape-digital-markets-future/ The joint letter we signed onto about the DSA is available from here: https://www.article19.org/resources/joint-letter-to-eu-commissions-telecommunications-council-on-digital-services-act/ Our work with EPD on sponsored political content is available here: https://www.article19.org/resources/focus-on-political-ad-transparency-not-contents/ A summary of our EMFA breakfast session in the European Parliament: https://www.article19.org/resources/eu-media-pluralism-test-key-for-an-effective-european-media-freedom-act/ A summary of the result of advocacy with MEP to bring transparency to the ECJ: https://www.article19.org/resources/blog-eu-courts-reform-on-access-to-documents-is-not-enough/ Co-authored article on the EMFA’s ‘media pluralism test’: https://www.euractiv.com/section/media/opinion/media-pluralism-test-in-european-media-freedom-act-must-achieve-what-it-is-set-out-to-do/

Interests Represented

Does not represent commercial interests

Member Of

We are a member of the European Digital Rights Initiative: https://edri.org/ The European Partnership for Democracy: https://epd.eu/ The Global Network Initiative: https://globalnetworkinitiative.org/

Organisation Members

n/a

Additional Information

The listed contribution from the European Commission represents the total received from the Commission directly where ARTICLE 19 was the core receiver of the grant. Additional funding was provided to ARTICLE 19 as a partnership in projects of other organisations receiving the EU funding.