The European Parliament on Wednesday adopted the Media Freedom Act to protect journalists and press freedoms. The new law was adopted with 464 votes in favor, 92 against and 65 abstentions. The act forbids EU member states from compelling journalists to disclose their sources and deploying surveillance spyware against journalists.

A new European Board for Media Services will also replace the current European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services and be responsible for overseeing the act’s application across member states and addressing disinformation and foreign interference.

EU member states will only be able to obtain information on journalists’ sources or confidential communications if a judge finds an “overriding requirement in the public interest” to compel disclosure. In addition, the act compels media service providers to disclose their ownership structures, with the information on the total amount of state advertising allocated to them and advertising revenues received from public authorities or non-EU member states.

The European Parliament also acknowledged the influence social media has on press freedoms. The act, therefore, also requires social media to distinguish independent news outlets from non-independent sources. Further, social media companies are required to notify news agencies that the social media platform intends to delete or restrict their content and give them 24 hours to respond.

The European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton welcomed the overwhelming support from the European Parliament. The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola and Breton similarly stated that the act is important to strengthen media independence.

However, several countries questioned the legal basis of the act. In particular, Germany, Denmark, France and Hungary similarly argued that the act interferes with national sovereign rights. For instance, Denmark contended that since the media targets audiences within each country, member states are in a better position to regulate the media industry than the EU.

The European Commission’s 2022 Rule of Law Report highlighted the importance of media freedom, market plurality, political independence and the social inclusiveness of media. The report said that Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovenia are at high risk for threats to media freedom and pluralism, observing online harassment and physical attacks against journalists.