media lab | Podcast Season: 2 - Episode: 10 / Release date: 28-3-2023

1:1 with Rita Jonušaitė
EU DisinfoLab

Episode Highlights

00:00 Intro

00:47 Media Freedom Act - How To Fix: The Media Exemption

07:26 Outro

Key Quotes

"The EC proposal regarding Article 17 EMFA is trying to solve a problem that actually does not exist. There is no evidence to confirm that over-removal of media content is a systemic problem (...)."

1 / 9

"According to the EMFA draft anyone can be a media service provider (...) Imagine all the bad actors now being able to benefit from Article 17."

2 / 9

"The system is prone to abuse by bad actors, and the system also will enable state-controlled media that spreads disinformation and propaganda."

3 / 9

"The privileged treatment introduced in the EMFA is hard to implement (...) and will very likely result in a situation where the very large online platforms will refrain from content moderation of any media."

4 / 9

"This Article 17 in the European Media Freedom Act will open the door for the media exemption. (...) We are already seeing that happening in the institutions."

5 / 9

"The very fact of how quickly media content carrying disinformation specifically (...) goes online, how quickly it actually spreads, is not being accounted for."

6 / 9

"Article 17 could be used to prevent effective enforcement of the DSA: platforms could very easily justify their non compliance with the DSA by provisions in the EMFA, as this is a sector specific regulation (...)."

7 / 9

"Article 17 EMFA is nothing more than another attempt to bring a very, very bad idea back to life, one that was already rejected in the DSA by both the Council and the EP: the media exemption."

8 / 9

"This is a choice between a non-existent issue of media content moderation and ensuring that users are safe online by deleting Article 17 and focusing on the DSA’s effective implementation and enforcement."

9 / 9

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About Our Guest

Rita Jonušaitė | Advocacy Coordinator - EU DisinfoLab

Rita Jonušaitė is Advocacy Coordinator at EU DisinfoLab, an independent non-profit organisation focused on tackling sophisticated disinformation campaigns targeting the EU, its member states, core institutions, and core values. Previously Rita worked at the European Youth Forum as Policy and Advocacy Manager and prior to that at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. At the moment Rita is also pursuing a degree in IP & ICT Law at the KU Leuven university in Belgium.

Relevant Resources

Policy Statement on Article 17 of the Proposed European Media Freedom Act - EU DisinfoLab

Twitter thread on the Media Exemption - EU DisinfoLab

The European Commission’s EMFA Proposal is Paving the Way for the Media Exemption to Come Back - EU DisinfoLab

Reject the Media Exemption - EU DisinfoLab

EU DisinfoLab

Rita Jonušaitė

1:1 with Rita JonušaitėEU DisinfoLab