Hello!

A new European Parliament was elected and while there was a shift to the right, the majorities that controlled the decision-making so far haven’t changed. They are slimmer, however. Which may make the votes of other groups more important, like the ECR (where the current Italian and Czech Prime Ministers' parties sit) or the Greens. Meanwhile, we are monitoring the composition of parliamentary committees and the likely re-organisation of some units within the European Commission

Dimi & Michele

=== CSAM ===

It’s not all pure politics and posts, though. One file, on fighting child sexual abuse materials online, is still being worked on by the Belgian Council Presidency. They made a last effort to get a negotiating position in the Council. Unsuccessfully.

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The latest Belgian compromise attempt suggested that interpersonal messaging services scan personal communications for suspected child sexual abuse materials only after users have agreed to opt into such a system. However, if users don’t agree, they wouldn’t be allowed to share images, videos and links. In the end, there was no  majority for such a deal, so it wasn’t put up for a vote. We know that Germany, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic disagreed with this approach. France used to be sceptical about the scanning on interpersonal communications, but seemed to shift its position lately. 

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Even if the Council eventually agrees on a negotiating position, it would have to hammer out a joint version of the text with the European Parliament, which has adopted its own negotiating position a while ago. The parliament's amendments are much more privacy oriented and would only allow monitoring of specific accounts or networks and only after a judicial order. 

=== Digital Policy in the Next Commission ===

The European Commission’s briefing books have “leaked”. These are documents prepared by the services for the incoming Commissioners. We have taken a deeper dive into the digital policy briefing book prepared by DG Connect. It is essentially a set of suggestions for the next commissioner who will be responsible for the digital portfolio.

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The key message seems to be that the Commission needs to assert itself as a regulator of the main legislative files from the last mandate, in particular the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act. However, the paper also suggests that some gaps and missing pieces can be tackled, like online media, influencers and advertising. 

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The one certain reform is the recast of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), which governs the EU-wide coordination of national legislation on all audiovisual media — traditional TV broadcasts and on-demand services. The report suggests that a less fragmented national landscape for streaming services would be welcome. 

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On copyright the briefing recommends that the Commission gathers evidence and assesses the necessity of any intervention in the area of researchers’ access to scientific publications and the role of copyright law in research more broadly. Possible regulatory measures are the secondary publication right or other measures facilitating access to copyright protected content.

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NB: Copyright Unit: There are rumours that the copyright unit of the European Commission could be moved from DG CNCT (the digital directorate) to DG EAC (Education and Culture). Reminder: Two mandates ago the unit was moved from DG MARKT (Internal Market) to CNCT.

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The document proposes to invest in open architectures, spanning from hardware to software, in order to increase competitiveness.

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Specific measures are needed, the document says, to allow start-ups and smaller companies to comply with, and fully exploit the new regulatory framework. They must be empowered to play an active part in shaping the next generation of smart technologies within a diverse and open European innovation ecosystem. A well-functioning European ecosystem of digital commons, based on open technologies and driven by European values, and a thriving culture of collaboration and social innovation are also essential for ensuring sovereignty, trust and user empowerment.

=== Public Media and AI ===

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is the European association gathering public service media, published its position paper on generative AI and media, which is one of their strategic priorities. The paper identifies three main points: 1) the possibility for media to decide if and how their data/content can be used and to negotiate remuneration; 2) AI generated content should properly attribute and display the sources of the content used; 3) giving prominence to reliable media content, adopt solutions to verify content and remove the illegal content.

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We are currently talking to EBU to explore possible common initiatives and projects that can help foster the spread of reliable information as both organisations aim at serving the public interest. In this sense, we are trying to expand and internationalise the German project Wiki Loves Broadcast, which has a lot of potential in tackling disinformation and promoting reliable content of general interest.

=== 102 TFEU ===

Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union prohibits abuse of a “dominant position” in the internal market, including unfair pricing and unfair contractual obligations. 

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The European Commission may issue guidelines as to how articles are to be applied in practice. It is now running a consultation on new guidelines for Article 102. There was a call for evidence and the new draft guidelines will be published soon, after which everyone will have a chance to comment.

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We may engage in the upcoming feedback round, as 102 TFEU works together with the Digital Markets Act and will be a factor in  how the EU and national regulators handle online services. It is interesting to observe the slight shift of European competition law towards an approach that moves away from a narrow economic approach and looking at more factors how monopolies or dominant services influence society. 

=== Artists and Performers on Copyright ===

According to a study published by the association of European performers’ organisations, AEPO-ARTIS, three-quarters of musicians don't receive information from streaming services that they are legally entitled to and need to claim their rights and negotiate contracts. 

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The Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive was a major piece of legislation adopted in 2019 and one of its main premises was to ensure “fair remuneration” for online uses. While we don’t expect another full-blow copyright reform during the upcoming legislative mandate, smaller interventions as well as preparatory work for a future reform are very likely.   

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