The EU’s European Media Freedom Act has come into force today effectively regularising public broadcasters and putting them under its scrutiny. The European Board for Media Services will be responsible for the enforcement of the act. Malta’s public broadcaster, the Public Broadcasting Services is braced for a wide-range of reforms and changes if the act is actually enforced.
The EMFA obliges member states to ensure that PBS is free from political interference and that its appointments are based on merit and not political allegiances. These changes will have to apply on a public broadcaster which is effectively a propaganda arm for the government. The Act prescribes that government’s can not use the public broadcaster for political propaganda.
Government funding for the press will also be put under scrutiny with the government now being obliged to prevent funding for the press that discriminates politically and punished criticism. Most of Malta’s press is dependent on government funding including outlets such as MaltaToday which are fully dependent on government funding and serve as Labour Party mouthpieces. The government is now also obliged to be transparent in its funding to the press. The Act also aims to prevent governments from distorting the press and media industry in their favour: something the government in Malta does overwhelmingly
The act also provides new protection for journalists and their sources and the prohibition of the use of spyware against them. The EU will also be supporting the implementation of the act with a series of funds including a €2.9 million fund to support independent Russian and Belarusian media outlets in Europe.
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