AVMS Directive

Probably the most significant change in the new version of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD or the Directive) is the extension of its scope to the regulation of video-sharing platforms (VSPs). It is the first time that legislation on an EU level has addressed specific content regulation on any kind of digital platform. In the context of a changing mood toward big tech, the provisions of the Directive may prove to be very influential. Either because its implementation would lead to a more satisfactory rearrangement of the current situation in the EU media environment, or because of some tough lessons learned.

True, this regulation concerns only audiovisual content, and therefore, does not cover all content on social media. But with this model, as this chapter tries to explain, we are witnessing a new approach to content regulation that, if successful, can later be extended to other areas. That is why it warrants close inspection. And ideally, if this is done before the transposition of the provisions in question into national legislative frameworks.

From the broader perspective, the approach that the new AVMSD takes is in line with the ideas voiced by many of those thinking and writing about the potential content regulation on platforms.
Its approach to content regulation is systemic rather than focusing on individual pieces of content on the platform, it recognises the rights of the users, including explicitly mentioning the protection of freedom of expression of those that upload content, and it legislates for transparency.

And it is these three elements of VSP regulation that this chapter is primarily focusing on. On the systemic approach because it is an entirely new element in the EU media regulation. On the latter two elements, rights of the users and transparency, because, while fairly rudimentary in their phrasing in the Directive, these may prove to be crucial in the development of a new approach to content regulation on digital platforms.

Indeed, to achieve this, it would take a certain regulatory angle to interpret the provisions of the Directive. This chapter is looking at the VSP regulation in AVMSD precisely from this perspective. It tries to highlight those parts that, if given priority by legislators in the member states, may help in improving the current workings of the media environment in digital space.

La Commission européenne a présenté le 25 mai 2016 une proposition de révision de la Directive sur les services de médias audiovisuels , faisant suite à un important travail de consultation et d’évaluation entrepris en 2015.  La publication de cette proposition, qui a fait l’objet d’un premier examen par le Conseil des Ministres le 31 mai 2016  et doit être examiné dans les mois à venir par le Parlement européen , puis transposée en droit national par les Etats membres, constitue un moment important dans l’évolution de la réglementation européenne, à l’heure où les offres de services à la demande sont arrivées à maturité et où les pratiques des consommateurs, en particulier des jeunes, évoluent très rapidement. Le présent article propose une première lecture critique de ce texte, qui contient des avancées intéressantes mais aussi marque les limites de l’ambition et des capacités réglementaires de l’Union européenne. Il propose également quelques considérations sur l’impact que le Brexit pourrait avoir sur la révision de la Directive et sa mise en œuvre future.

The national report for Slovenia presents the implementation of EU legislation in national legislation and discusses the case law and other legal developments in Slovenian law concerning the following topics: 1. Internal Market and electronic commerce : Internet and e-commerce 2. Digital media 3. Digital infrastructures 4. Data in the digital economy

The paper presents the issues surrounding the legal definition of audiovisual media service by presenting and interpreting a case recently decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union, C-347/14 New Media Online. The case – submitted to the Court in 2012 – garnered international interest from scholars and law practitioners as it approached current problems linked to the issue of audiovisual media content hosted on online news portals, more specifically the question if this type of content falls under the scope of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Advocate General Maciej Szpunar’s non-binding opinion from July 2015 and the Court’s final – somewhat diverging and more nuanced – decision from later that year offer important guidelines regarding the legal notion of (non-linear) audiovisual media content.