Over the past two weeks, the European Parliament’s specialist committees conducted hearings for the European Union’s 26 Commissioners-designate, subjecting each candidate to a three-hour examination of their qualifications and policy positions. ARTICLE 19 takes some encouragement from what was said by both confirmed Commissioners and Commissioners-designate, who are yet to be confirmed. We welcome the repeated emphasis on effective enforcement of the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the European Media Freedom Act. The effective enforcement of these pieces of legislation is key to upholding the rule of law and protecting democracy and core fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of expression and information, whilst also reigning in the considerable market power of Big Tech and fulfilling conditions for fairer and the most contestable markets.
For ARTICLE 19, the key appointees for protection of human rights and freedom of expression include Teresa Ribera Rodríguez (Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition), Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy) and Michael McGrath (Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law).
ARTICLE 19 looks forward to working with all Executive Vice-Presidents and Commissioners throughout their mandates to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of legislation passed in the last five years, and on new legislative initiatives like the Digital Fairness Act (DFA).
Positive signals from the Commissioner hearings
Significant points from the hearings important for the protection of freedom of expression and information include:
- Effective and properly resourced enforcement: This came up on several occasions in all three hearings. Notably, Executive Vice-President-designate Virkkunen stated that DG Connect’s DSA enforcement unit will double its staff capacity to 200 staff, recruiting mostly researchers and lawyers. We observe that this expansion and its focus on researchers and lawyers indicate a serious commitment to effective implementation of the DSA and suggest a robust approach to enforcement. For ARTICLE 19, this is crucial, as it could lead to more consistent protection of freedom of expression online and better accountability for tech platforms.
- The need to protect rights: Mr McGrath emphasised the need to protect fundamental rights and support innovation when explaining his belief that the Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the AI Act must be consistently enforced to ensure there is no fragmentation in the EU. We believe that consistent enforcement of the DSA, DMA, and AI Act across the EU is vital for maintaining a unified approach to human rights and freedom of expression, and in the case of AI specifically, we look forward to working closely with Ms Virkkunen to ensure that the immense potential of AI is harnessed in a manner that fully respects fundamental rights and rule of law.
- Protection of journalists and independence of media: Mr McGrath also stressed protection of journalists and media independence as central to his plans, with the implementation of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) a core means to do so, and he pledged a ‘regulatory fitness check’ to be carried out in all member states. The pledge for a ‘regulatory fitness check’ in all member states is particularly important as it could help identify and address disparities in how these new legislations are applied, ensuring that freedom of expression is protected equally across the EU. We hope this focus could lead to stronger safeguards for press freedom, better protection for journalists from harassment and violence, and measures to ensure media pluralism.
- Competition and market power: Executive Vice-President-designate Ribera referenced producing guidelines for exploitative abuses and the possible introduction of a new competition tool. She also pledged more resources for DMA enforcement, having admitted that current resources and expertise are insufficient for the effective monitoring of compliance. Moreover, she also admitted that more should be done to appropriately tackle so-called killer acquisitions. ARTICLE 19 particularly welcomes the plan to extend the currently discussed 102 Draft Guidelines to cover exploitative abuses, as called for in our joint submission to the public consultation, especially as they could provide a clearer framework for identifying and addressing the manifold practices that unfairly exploit market dominance in the digital space. Similarly, a new competition tool might allow for a more proactive intervention in markets where competition is at risk, independently from the finding of abusive conduct by companies enjoying a dominant position. Furthermore, we remain convinced that the pledge to increase resources for DMA enforcement is increasingly vital to ensure openness and fairness in digital markets. And lastly, we support an increase in the prohibition of killer acquisitions to preserve competitive market structures and would further urge Ms Ribera, pending her confirmation, to consider structural remedies more broadly.
ARTICLE 19’s core priorities for the incoming EU Commission
ARTICLE 19 welcomes these commitments, as they align with our core priorities, outlined in our EU Manifesto for the incoming European Commission, and which include:
- Creating conditions for an open, fair, pluralistic, and decentralised communication environment.
- Embedding human rights throughout the technology stack, the mainstay of the information ecosystem.
- Enhancing EU transparency.
- Advocating for these goals in international fora, especially in light of recent political developments in the US.
Our goal remains to contribute to the establishment and support of an open, diverse, and resilient information ecosystem worldwide. We are looking forward to working with the new Commissioners in making this goal a reality.