News

EMFA in Force: A New Era for Media Freedom in the EU

14/08/2025

On 8 August 2025, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) officially entered into force in all EU Member States, marking an important step towards safeguarding media independence, ensuring pluralism and strengthening transparency across the European Union beyond the existing Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). Rather than replacing the AVMSD, the EMFA extends and strengthens the existing framework while creating new obligations that apply to all media, not just audiovisual services.

These new rules reaffirm the central role of free media in democracy and also introduce clear and enforceable obligations for governments, online platforms, publishers, and audience measurement systems.

Let’s have a closer look at how the EMFA reshapes responsibilities in four key areas:

  1. State level
  • Governments at all levels, from ministries to security agencies, are now formally prohibited from influencing editorial decisions. This includes a clear ban on the use of spyware against journalists, to ensure protection of source confidentiality, and safeguarding investigative work from state intrusion.
  • Public service media must receive funding that is not only adequate but also predictable and free from political pressure, preventing governments from using budgetary decisions to influence editorial lines.
  • All public funds allocated to advertising must be allocated in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, with full disclosure to avoid any hidden support for politically aligned media.
  • When reviewing mergers or acquisitions in the media sector, national authorities must assess the potential impact on media pluralism and independence, ensuring that market structures do not threaten democratic discourse.
  1. Internet Platforms

Very large online platforms (VLOPs) must establish a fair and transparent procedure before removing or restricting media content. They are required to inform the media concerned, give them the opportunity to respond and, in certain cases, refer the matter to the European Media Services Council for arbitration. The aim here is to strike a balance between combating disinformation and protecting legitimate journalism.

  1. Publishers

Media companies are now required to disclose their ownership structures, including information on beneficial owners. This measure aims to prevent hidden political or corporate control and help the public understand potential influences on editorial content.

In addition, publishers must implement clear internal policies that protect journalists from any type of pressure that could compromise their work. This includes preventing any interference from owners, advertisers or political actors in day-to-day editorial decisions.

  1. Audience-Measurement Systems

Audience measurement, such as television ratings, online traffic statistics and reader surveys, must be carried out using transparent, impartial and verifiable methodologies. This levels the playing field for smaller, independent media outlets, ensuring that advertising revenue and market visibility are based on fair competition rather than opaque metrics.

Will the EMFA make a difference?

We would like to express some scepticism about whether the EMFA can actually change decades of government control over public broadcasters.

Let’s highlight why these rules might be different:

  1. Legal Binding Force: Unlike previous soft-law approaches, the EMFA is a regulation, not a directive, meaning it is legally binding for member states without requiring national transposition. This gives it more teeth than past initiatives.
  2. Specific Funding Protections: Article 5 requires that funding procedures guarantee public service media providers have adequate, sustainable and predictable financial resources on a multi-year basis, specifically to prevent yearly political negotiations that undermine independence International Press Institute Public Media Alliance.
  3. Independent Monitoring: Member States must designate independent authorities or bodies free from political influence to monitor compliance, with results made public EU Media Freedom Act must safeguard independent public service media.
  4. The enforcement structure operates on multiple levels:
  • European Commission: The Commission should consider launching infringement proceedings under Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU if the concrete implementation of the EMFA continues to be delayed at national levels.
  • European Board for Media Services: This new independent advisory body can issue opinions when Member States adopt measures that could affect media pluralism and editorial independence, and coordinate actions across national regulatory authorities The Game of Boards: The role of authorities in concerting the Digital Services Act and the Media Freedom Act for protecting media freedom. 
  • National Courts: Local journalists, media workers and other actors can contest failures to implement EMFA provisions before national and European courts, even in the absence of national legislation EMFA in Force: A New Era for Media Freedom in the EU.
  1. Annual Monitoring: Article 26 establishes an annual monitoring exercise conducted independently by specialized academic entities to assess media concentration levels and risks.

These new laws finally provide a legally binding framework with real enforcement mechanisms. However, its success will depend on the willingness of national governments to implement and comply with its principles. While the EMFA provides stronger legal tools than ever before, its implementation at national levels has been delayed due to a lack of sufficient political will on the part of member states. Many Member States have either yet to begin or are lagging behind in their obligation to align domestic legislation with the EMFA rules, despite having had more than one year to do so. With two cases pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union — Hungary v. European Parliament and Council (C-486/24) and Viktor Orbán v. 24.hu (C-843/24) — the coming months will test both the resilience of the law and the EU’s commitment to protecting media freedom.

Conclusions

The real test will be whether the European Commission is willing to use infringement procedures against non-compliant member states (the experience gained with the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) hasn’t been great) and whether the new monitoring mechanisms can create sufficient public pressure for change. For countries with already captured public media, the EMFA may be too late to reverse existing damage, but it could prevent further deterioration and provide tools for eventual restoration of independence.