ERGA presents its priorities to the European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education

On Thursday January 13, 2022, the newly elected Chairman of the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA), Mr Karim Ibourki, was invited for the first time by the European Parliament's CULT Committee to present ERGA's priorities for 2022. In his speech, the ERGA Chairman stressed that the protection of fundamental rights, including human dignity and privacy, as well as the safeguarding of freedom of expression, will represent the cornerstone of ERGA's activities during its presidency. Mr. Ibourki took the opportunity to stress the importance of key legislative dossiers aimed at regulating online platforms and political advertising in order to assert Europe's digital sovereignty and safeguard European democracy.

In this respect, this year will be crucial for updating the European media manager. As announced by the European Commission, it will present a European Media Freedom Act to safeguard media freedom and plurality in the European media market.

In addition, two major regulations - the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising - are currently under discussion. The DSA is a horizontal instrument that attempts to address the main problems posed by online platforms, while the initiative on political advertising addresses specific issues concerning political advertising on all media, including potentially negative effects on democracy.

" As whistleblower Frances Haugen reminded us, today the most dangerous threats to freedom of expression come not from democratically elected governments, but rather from private companies. When commercial activities come into conflict with the interests of society as a whole, democracies must react and pass new laws," declared Karim Ibourki.

In this context, the ERGA Chairman also stressed the need to increase the responsibilities and accountability of online platforms, and to ensure that an efficient and effective enforcement mechanism for the new rules is in place.

" The DSA introduces for the first time a series of obligations towards online platforms and will have the effect of counterbalancing their enormous power. The involvement of national regulators in the ERGA framework is crucial to the implementation of the DSA. We cannot miss the opportunity to deliver a better online environment, and without the effective implementation of new rules, we will not achieve this goal," concluded the ERGA Chairman.

About ERGA:

The European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) is made up of the national regulatory authorities in the field of audiovisual media services. ERGA advises the European Commission and facilitates cooperation between regulatory bodies in the EU. Mr. Karim Ibourki, President of the Belgian French Superior Audiovisual Council (French Superior Audiovisual Council), is the current Chairman of ERGA.