PRESS RELEASE

-Brussels, 14 December 2021-

Today, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) committee adopted its report on the Digital Services Act (DSA). The report will serve as a basis for the European Parliament’s plenary vote planned to take place in January 2022.

While the European press sector is in favour of a new asymmetric internet regulation, our associations cannot stand behind a report with such obvious risks for media freedom and pluralism. Therefore, the European Magazine Media Association (EMMA), the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA), the European Publishers Council (EPC) and News Media Europe (NME) ask the European Parliament’s plenary to table amendments for the protection of editorial content and online advertising revenues, or otherwise to reject the report.

Specifically, European press publishers ask for the IMCO report to be amended in plenary, based on:

1. The JURI, ITRE and CULT committees’ concrete solutions to keep lawful press content up, binding on all intermediaries (Article 12) or on Very Large Online Platforms (Article 27).
2. Data protection and data-driven advertising should be left to GDPR and the forthcoming ePrivacy Regulation. Any further restriction on consent and use of data going beyond GDPR would be unacceptable.

Should these aspects not be addressed in plenary, we call upon the European Parliament to reconsider the report in committee until an appropriate and reasonable compromise can be found.

Wout van Wijk, Executive Director of News Media Europe, declared: “The IMCO report as it stands gives online intermediaries the green light to impose rules and unilateral decisions over legal editorial content. This is deeply worrying from a press freedom perspective.”

Ilias Konteas, Executive Director of ENPA and EMMA, said: “The report would legitimise by law the fact that the boundaries of press freedom are no longer determined by general laws, but by the Very Large Online Platforms’ terms and conditions.”

Angela Mills Wade, Executive Directive of the European Publishers Council, said: “By adding blanket obligations across the advertising value chain, the IMCO position would entrench the data supremacy of the Very Large Online Platforms and push smaller players out of the market.”

For further information, please contact:

EMMA: Ilias Konteas

Ilias.konteas@magazinemedia.eu / www.magazinemedia.eu

ENPA: Ilias Konteas

Ilias.Konteas@enpa.eu / www.enpa.eu

EPC: Angela Mills Wade

Angela.MillsWade@epceurope.eu / www.epceurope.eu

NME: Wout van Wijk

wout.vanwijk@newsmediaeurope.eu / www.newsmediaeurope.eu 

About us: 

EMMA, the European Magazine Media Association, is the unique and complete representation of Europe’s magazine media, which is today enjoyed by millions of consumers on various platforms. EMMA represents 15,000 publishing houses, publishing 50,000 magazine titles across Europe in print and digital. Website: www.magazinemedia.eu

ENPA, the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association, is the largest representative body of newspaper publishers across Europe. ENPA advocates for 16 national associations across 13 European countries, and is a principal interlocutor to the EU institutions and a key driver of media policy debates in the European Union. Website: www.enpa.eu

EPC, the European Publishers Council is a high-level group of Chairmen and CEOs of leading European media corporations actively involved in multimedia markets spanning newspaper, magazine, book, journal, internet and online database publishers, and radio and TV broadcasting. Website: http://epceurope.eu/ 

NME, News Media Europe (NME) represents the progressive news media industry in Europe – over 2500 European titles of newspapers, radio, TV and internet. NME is committed to maintaining and promoting the freedom of the press, to upholding and enhancing the freedom to publish, and to championing the newsbrands which are one of the most vital parts of Europe’s creative industries. Website: https://www.newsmediaeurope.eu/