Revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive adopted in Europe

On 6 November 2018, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), reports Lexology. “This closes a long, and at some moments, tense and conflictual process started in May 2016, with the presentation of the original proposal by the European Commission. While both the European Parliament and the Council (the EU co-legislators) agreed on the need to modernise the legal framework for audiovisual services and adapt it to the online environment, the discussion in some matters created important tensions between them and with relevant stakeholders all along the process.” Finally, after a year of dialogue and a lot of redrafting to clarify the text to restrict, as much as possible, any alternative interpretation to its most sensitive issues, negotiators from both institutions finally reached a political agreement on the revised rules. The declared goal of the directive is to update the AVMSD currently in force to reflect the evolution of the market and to cover new types of content and players after the game-changing advent of the audiovisual sector on the internet. The new directive includes some revision of the country of origin principle, the inclusion of video-sharing platforms, reinforcement of media ownership transparency, rules against hate speech, protection of minors, some changes to the way commercial communications can be made, and promotion of European works. Read more

• Tuesday, 20 November 2018