Image © Sergio J Lievano – Fotolia
(BRUSSELS) – The EU institutions reached preliminary agreement Thursday on revised rules for audiovisual media, focusing on protection of minors, hate speech and 30% European content for on-demand services.
The revised legislation will apply to broadcasters, but also to video-on-demand and video-sharing platforms, such as Netflix, YouTube or Facebook, as well as to the live streaming on video-sharing platforms.
The agreement was welcomed by the Commission: “These new rules reflect digital progress and recognise that people now watch videos in different ways than before,” said the vice-president for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip.
“The outcome is well balanced, especially with regard to the scope of the directive, including video-sharing platforms and audiovisual content on social media, a more level playing field for all communication stakeholders, and protection of European works,” said EP negotiator Petra Kammerevert MEP.
Following pressure from the EU Parliament, the text now includes enhanced protection for children, stricter rules on advertising, and at least 30% of content in programmes of TV channels and VOD platforms must be European.
New rules would prohibit any content inciting violence, hatred and terrorism, while gratuitous violence and pornography will be subject to the strictest rules.
While co-regulation and self-regulation are prioritised, video-sharing platforms will now be responsible for reacting quickly when content is reported or flagged by users as harmful. Platforms will need to create a transparent, easy-to-use and effective mechanism to allow users to report or flag content. Technical solutions to explain the nature of the content in the hosted videos and follow-up when a video has been flagged are also needed.
Health and safety concerns regarding minors are also addressed. The new law includes strict rules on advertising or product placement in children’s TV programmes or content available on video-on-demand platforms. Measures should be put in place to effectively reduce children’s exposure to publicity on unhealthy food or beverages. Product placement and teleshopping will be prohibited in children’s programmes, while member states can decide individually whether they also want to exclude sponsorship from children’s programmes.
MEP negotiators secured a personal data protection mechanism for children, imposing measures to ensure that data collected by audiovisual media providers are not processed for commercial use, including profiling and behaviourally targeted advertising.
The new rules impose a maximum 20% quota of advertising of the daily broadcasting period between 6.00 and 18.00, giving the broadcaster the flexibility of adjusting their advertising periods. A prime-time window between 18:00 and 0:00 was also set out, during which advertising will only be allowed to take up a maximum of 20% of broadcasting time.
In order to support the cultural diversity of the European audiovisual sector, it was agreed that 30% of content should be European, also in the video-on-demand platforms’ catalogues.
Video-on-demand platforms are also asked to contribute to the development of European audiovisual productions, either through a direct investment in content or a contribution to national funds. The level of contribution in each country should be proportional to their on-demand revenues in that country (member states where they are established or member states where they target the audience wholly or mostly).
The Parliament also secured measures to ensure the integrity of the signal. It applies to smart TVs and means that the media service provider cannot add a window with content to the screen during a programme, without first having the agreement of the broadcaster.. Rules are also foreseen to ensure that media services providers continuously and progressively make audiovisual services more accessible for people with disabilities.
The negotiations will officially conclude in June when the European Parliament, Council and Commission will meet to finalise and discuss the last remaining technical details of the proposal. After formal confirmation by the Council and the European Parliament’s plenary vote, the new rules will have to be transposed into national law.
Further information, European Parliament
