The regulatory response to media concentration New IRIS Special report European Audiovisual Observatory - Public Workshop 12 October 2016, Brussels Prof. Dr. Mark D. Cole, Director for Academic Affairs, EMR and Professor of Media and Telecommunication Law at the University of Luxembourg 1

Outline I. The Institute of European Media Law (EMR) II. Structure of the report III. Media diversity at European level IV. Conclusions Die Seite kann später in die Präsentation kopiert werden, das aktuelle Thema ist immer weiß, die übrigen schwarz. 2

The Institute of European Media Law (EMR) Founded in 1990 Today, among the most prestigious research institutes in the area of media law in Germany, but active across Europe Partner of the EAO (cooperation agreement) and many other national, European and international institutions EMR media network (European media law correspondents) Main scope of activities: Research projects and legal studies (focus on comparative legal analyses) Conferences Publications 3

Outline I. The Institute of European Media Law (EMR) II. Theme and Structure of the report III. Media diversity at European level IV. Conclusions Die Seite kann später in die Präsentation kopiert werden, das aktuelle Thema ist immer weiß, die übrigen schwarz. 4

IRIS Special – the new report Media ownership Market realities and regulatory responses 5

Structure of the Report Media ownership in European markets (the economics view) Guaranteeing media diversity at European level: the legal framework and its implementation (EU/CoE/interplay MS) Media Pluralism Monitor: an instrument to measure and publicise media concentration Media concentration reports concerning selected countries: Germany, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Poland Legislative framework (Constitutional, specific law); „convergence“ factor; interplay with competition law; monitoring; status quo/recent developments Conclusions 6

Outline I. The Institute of European Media Law (EMR) II. Theme and Structure of the report III. Media diversity at European level IV. Conclusions Die Seite kann später in die Präsentation kopiert werden, das aktuelle Thema ist immer weiß, die übrigen schwarz. 7

Guaranteeing Media diversity at European level Analysis covers European Union as well as activities of the Council of Europe Actual role of European level not fully clear – question of competency esp. of EU Relevant legal framework The human rights context: Art. 10 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Case law ECtHR! Explicit mention of pluralism as justification Art. 11 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR) Incorporating ECHR incl ECtHR interpretation and explicit mention in para. 2 But: no media- or media-concentration-specific regulation 8

Measures and Instruments on European level Measures to prevent media concentration in the EU EU competition law and practice Art. 101, 102 TFEU, Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004 (= Mergers Reg.) Detailed analysis of market definitions in convergent markets Relationship between EU and national level Esp. “double test” EU competition law and national specific law safeguarding legitimate interests = media pluralism (foreseen in Art. 21 (4) Mergers Reg.) Exemplified by presenting recent relevant Commission cases which had to deal with question of convergence and its impact on market definitions Lack of specific legislative acts, but important EU political initiatives e.g. Green Papers, Parliament resolutions, Funding decisions (MPM) MPM: systematic information collection, awareness, comparability 9

Measures and Instruments on European level Measures to prevent media concentration in the context of the Council of Europe Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers Recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly Non-binding but important impulse for CoE-Member State action and awareness building Recently esp. concerning transparency of media ownership Impact of media-related markets and players E.g. “media agencies” as players potentially impacting diversity due to financing element E.g. IT giants with “data power” and how this impacts other media providers 10

Outline I. The Institute of European Media Law (EMR) II. Theme and Structure of the report III. Media diversity at European level IV. Conclusions Die Seite kann später in die Präsentation kopiert werden, das aktuelle Thema ist immer weiß, die übrigen schwarz. 11

Conclusions Media pluralism a basic requirement for freedom of expression and information in a democratic society Constitutional principle in most countries examined Fundamental rights in ECHR, CFR, but no media-specific binding law at European level Decisive impact of EU competition law on media diversity Relevant CoE recommendations/resolutions provide political impetus for media regulation in MS 12

Conclusions Main findings in the states examined Variety of instruments in place in the states examined to combat media concentration and guarantee media pluralism: Specific provisions to safeguard media pluralism in most countries General competition rules Other protective measures, e.g. implementation and protection of public service broadcasting meeting minimum quality standards and ensuring the provision of a certain breadth of information in an independent and balanced way Ongoing debates about the protection of media pluralism in many countries 13

Conclusions Challenges created by convergence Digitisation, technical advances Changing user behaviour (focus on Internet services) New types of media services via Internet New big players Content providers (e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime) Intermediaries (e.g. Google, Facebook)  Safeguarding media pluralism remains an important task and instruments need to be constantly re-evaluated in the changing landscape 14

Web europaeisches-medienrecht.de Franz-Mai-Straße 6 66121 Saarbrücken Deutschland Telefon +49/681/99275-11 Telefax +49/681/99275-12 Mail mark.cole@uni.lu Web europaeisches-medienrecht.de 15