European Ministers responsible for Media and Information Society today agreed to carry out a number of priority actions to tackle the most pressing challenges to freedom of expression, including the decline in the safety of journalists and the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and of massive digitalisation in the media and information environments on freedom of expression.
On the last of a Council of Europe Ministerial Conference held on 10 and 11 June, the Ministers adopted a Final Declaration and four resolutions covering areas where the Council of Europe will focus its efforts to protect freedom of expression in the next years: digital technologies, safety of journalists, the changing media and information environment, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on freedom of expression.
Recalling that violence against journalists and other media actors constitutes an attack on democracy, the ministers pledged to make this problem a political priority and expressed serious concern about the prevailing impunity of such attacks.
They invited the Council of Europe to prepare guidance for the drafting of national action plans on the safety of journalists and other media actors to be implemented by members states and to carry out a comprehensive campaign at European level to promote the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists, in addition to other measures.
The Ministers committed to reaching out to all actors involved in the design, development and deployment of digital technologies and AI tools for the creation, moderation and distribution of online content to develop co-regulation or regulation - including through legally binding standards where appropriate- to that ensure freedom of expression is respected.
Furthermore, they pledged to create the necessary regulatory conditions for ensuring that automated processes for creating and disseminating news, including through tools such as Natural Language Processing, robo-journalism and algorithmically prepared newsfeeds, be used in full respect of the right to freedom of expression. They also called on all actors to pay more attention to marginalised groups structurally excluded from receiving news and at risk of receiving a less diverse information offer.
The Ministers invited the Council of Europe to develop guidance on the impact of digital technologies on freedom of expression at the level of communications between individuals, within newsrooms and public communication spaces. Other actions to be undertaken are drafting – in cooperation with media professionals - ethical codes for media actors, including online platforms, to promote the transparent and responsible use of AI tools in the newsroom, protect from the dangers of personal data exploitation, and ensure exposure to a diversity of media content and sources.
In the context of the digitalisation of the media and information environment, the Ministers recognised the crucial importance of plural, reliable and trustworthy information free from undue state or private control for any democratic society. They pledged to address the increasing disinformation by supporting a plural and independent media landscape.
Among other actions, the Ministers invited the Council of Europe to revise the standards on responsibility for online content in light of the evolution of the roles for key actors in the media environment, including search engines and social media platforms. In the light of changes in campaigning techniques, they asked for the development of guidance on electoral communication campaigning and media coverage of electoral campaigns.
In the resolution on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministers expressed the commitment of member states to remove all unnecessary obstacles to freedom of expression in times of crisis and to ensure access to official information and documents in line with the Tromsø Convention on access to official documents. They underlined the need to ensure that existing laws and policies are not misused to silence critical voices instead for promoting a free and pluralistic public debate on all issues of public interest.
Jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the Cypriot government, the ministerial conference brought together over 40 ministers and State secretaries, and 350 participants from national governments, international organisations, civil society, media and academia.
More information:
- Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and Information Society
- Freedom of Expression
- Artificial Intelligence
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