New podcast on media ethics: A case for the press council 

The press councils from Belgium, Finland and Germany released a joint podcast exploring two important cases that show what reporting standards like truthfulness and the protection of victims mean for everyday life reporting. The two episodes are available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Truthfulness, human dignity and corrections of mistakes: these are the main standards followed by most professional media in Europe. But what do these standards mean for everyday reporting? For example, how do journalists cover accidents and human tragedies without hurting the victims’ dignity? And how do they differentiate themselves from disinformation via social media?  The first episode entitled ‘A traffic…

Open letter: Protecting digital rights and freedoms in future legislation to tackle child abuse

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined EDRi and 46 civil society organisations in jointly raising voices to the European Commission to demand that the forthcoming EU on ‘Legislation to effectively tackle child sexual abuse’ complies with EU fundamental rights and freedoms. Tackling the online dissemination of child sexual abuse and exploitation material (CSAM) is an important part of the broader global fight to protect young people from sexual abuse and exploitation. In particular, this fight requires a comprehensive approach by governments and companies to prevent such egregious crimes before they happen. In the context of the upcoming EU legislation to…

Hungary: Fidesz Media Council moves to silence independent station Tilos Rádió

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today in expressing serious concern over the decision by the Fidesz-controlled Media Council – the country’s powerful media regulator – to block the frequency license renewal of the symbolic independent station Tilos Rádió. Our organisations are concerned that this decision appears to be yet another disproportionate move by the Media Council, whose members were all nominated and appointed solely by the ruling party, which will force another independent voice off the country’s airwaves and further weaken media pluralism. We note the Media Council’s…