Prague – Today, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) came into effect. The regulation provides tools to protect the freedom, plurality, and editorial independence of media across the European Union. Czech media associations and public media announced today that they have prepared a self-regulatory ten commandments for the regulation.
The act was adopted by the European Parliament last March. It is to be transposed into Czech legislation by the Media Services Act, which has been prepared by the Ministry of Culture. The law, which the ministry expected to be adopted by the beginning of August, has not yet been approved by the government or parliament.
The Act on the Protection of Journalists’ Freedom and Media Independence is intended to help protect them from political and economic interference. It should also ensure transparency in media ownership and financing. The new regulation also regulates the conditions for allocating state advertising to the media.
The requirements of the European regulation at the national level are reflected in the self-regulatory ten commandments, which were agreed upon by seven industry associations and three public media, namely Czech Television, Czech Radio, and CTK. In the coming months, they will focus on adopting a memorandum that will address the application of the ten commandments. “The form of the planned self-regulation and the Ten Commandments is based on a principle that supports media freedom while maintaining a high level of transparency and accountability to the public. By this step, the signatories confirm their commitment to adhering to the principles formulated in the Ten Commandments,” they stated. More information will be published in September.
An integral part of the self-regulation system, according to the associations, is the defense of freedom of expression and a free media environment. The signed organizations jointly declared that thanks to this consensus, they are ready to fulfill the role assigned to them by the regulation. The participating entities want to be a partner for both very large platforms and the state and other public institutions in all areas where the act anticipates a role for self-regulation.
The Ten Commandments includes, among other things, a commitment to publish contact information for the person responsible for content, the responsible person must ensure compliance with professional standards in the given media service, the media service provider will establish internal rules to protect editorial integrity, protect against inappropriate political and commercial interests, and work with AI tools. The media must also adhere to an ethical code and ensure its compliance, must also prevent conflicts of interest, separate editorial content from commercial messages, or disclose the identity of its owner. (August 8)
