EU audiovisuel regulation: The new AVMS Directive in 5 questions

A directive is a European legal act issued by the Council of the European Union in conjunction with Parliament, or in some cases on its own. It is binding on the states to which it is addressed as to the objective to be achieved, but leaves them free to choose the means and form to achieve this objective within the timeframe set by the directive. If an audiovisual media directive is adopted, France, like other European countries, will have to transpose it into its legislation.

Various bodies are involved in drawing up a European directive: the European Commission (the Union's executive body), the Council of the European Union (representing the governments of the Member States) and the European Parliament (representing the citizens of the Member States). In principle, it is up to the Commission to propose new European legislation. These are then discussed and adopted by Parliament and the Council. The Member States must then transpose the directives into national law, and are responsible for implementing them. The Commission ensures that these texts are properly implemented.

"ADM" stands for audiovisual media service. There are two types of audiovisual media services:

• linear television services ;
• non-linear services, which refer to on-demand audio and video content services, where both the content and the time of broadcast are chosen by the user. Examples include MyTF1, 6Play, Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos, CanalPlay and others.

In addition, the new AVMS Directive, for which an agreement was reached on April 26, 2018 between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, will include in its scope, alongside Audiovisual Media Services, video sharing platforms, social networks and live video platforms.

The AVMS Directive establishes a common set of rules for EU service editors, video sharing platforms, social networks and live diffusion platforms, thereby securing and harmonizing the legal framework for the European audiovisual industry.

It is based on the country-of-origin principle: when a service editor is established in one EU member state and wishes to distribute its services in another, the rules of the country in which it is established apply.

The revision of the directive is a decisive step in modernising European regulation, at a time when the audiovisual landscape is undergoing profound changes linked to technological developments, changes in consumer practices, and the emergence of new players such as video-sharing platforms, social networks and live diffusion platforms.

By "services" we mean both TV channels and on-demand audiovisual media services. For example, TF1, M6, TMC, W9 for TV channels. Mytf1 or 6Play for SMADs.

This country-of-origin principle is, however, subject to an exception in the new directive with regard to publishers' investment in production.

The new directive strengthens the relevance and effectiveness of regulation by reducing regulatory disparities between different types of players and encouraging new forms of regulation:

• The directive's scope of application will be widened to include video-sharing platforms and social networks, as well as live diffusion ("livestreaming"). These players will then be required to implement specific measures, notably in terms of protecting person under 18s, fighting incitement to hatred and combating apology for terrorism;
• Cultural diversity objectives will remain a priority, notably through the requirement of a 30% quota of European works in the catalogs of on-demand audiovisual media services (ADMS), and the application of target-country rules to the financial contributions of both linear and non-linear services;
• The use of self- and co-regulation mechanisms will be strongly encouraged;
• The directive will be implemented by national regulators, notably through the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA). The independence of these regulators will be affirmed and defined in the text of the directive.

Once the SMA Directive has been validated by the European institutions, Member States may choose to transpose it into national law as it stands, or to adopt stricter rules in cases where the Directive does not expressly prohibit this. The AVMS Directive thus makes it possible to establish a minimum set of common rules, while preserving national particularities.