Freedom of Expression and State Aid to Media (Update)

"Under international law, States have a duty to create an enabling legal and regulatory environment that allows the development of a free, diverse and pluralistic media landscape where all media operators can fulfil their role in a democracy."

In this policy brief, ARTICLE 19 puts forward recommendations related to freedom of expression and public support to all private media, including print media, radio, and online news agencies. The recommendations are focused on state funders and are designed to ensure media pluralism and diversity and the promotion of equality, independence, and transparency. They are based on the premise that, under international law on freedom of expression, states have an obligation to adopt a legislative framework - which includes legislation around funding - that enables diverse and independent media to flourish.

This brief is an update of a 2012 policy brief that examined the role of state aid to print media only. In the current context of converged media landscapes, this kind of policy has become even more important, and it was necessary to update the 2012 policy brief to address all forms of public aid to all categories of media. As stated in the report, "In the current phase of media landscapes, whilst traditional formats such as broadcast radio and television remain important sources of information and ideas, the Internet, including mobile Internet, is taking on a position of ever growing importance as a media content distribution platform. This has led to a situation wherein distinguishing audiovisual media from print media has become more complex. Many new media actors exist only online and combine audio-visual materials with text and photographs. Simultaneously, new actors have quickly risen to dominant positions in the media landscapes: search engines and social media platforms now hold a decisive influence over the findability, visibility or accessibility of media and other content."

The brief makes the point that funding of independent media is becoming increasingly important. For example, digital advertising is threatening an important source of financing for legacy media, and the increase in viral dissemination of intentional misinformation ("fake news") is making the funding of reliable and accurate journalism even more crucial. Financial support provided by public authorities to private media companies can therefore contribute to maintaining or reinforcing pluralism and diversity in the media landscape. However, the brief also stresses that increased reliance on state support makes it easier for governments to try to gain control over media outlets.

To support its recommendations, the brief looks at international and regional standards for financial aid to media, which seek to protect the media from being dominated by state funders in order to protect freedom of expression. It also looks at ARTICLE 19's policy on state aid to print media, which outlines different kinds of subsidy systems and offers policy recommendations related to print media only. It takes into consideration research by ARTICLE 19's regional office in Mexico that showed that public advertising is used by public authorities to control and censor media. Recommendations here include, for example, that there needs to be transparency in all advertising expenditures.

The recommendations put forward in this brief relate to protecting the editorial independence and freedom of any media actor organisation. It firstly recommends that public support should pursue at least one of a number of objectives. These include: the protection and promotion of pluralism and diversity, including cultural and linguistic diversity; support to accurate and reliable journalism; and the promotion of gender equality in the media, amongst others. It also recommends that all forms of public support to private media comply with several conditions. It lists 10 conditions in total, which include:

• There needs to be a clear legal basis for every form of state/public support to the media;
• The relevant legislation must make clear that public support pursues one or various objectives of general interest, such as, but not limited to, the promotion of pluralism and diversity, support to professional ethics, support to accurate and reliable journalism, promotion of equality, innovative journalistic practices, adaptation to the digital age, or media literacy; and
• The legislation must include all applicable criteria that will preside over the allocation of public support, as well as clear information and guidelines on the applicable procedures and deadlines.