On June 24, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) published a guide in Brussels, offering public service media legal strategies under the European Media Freedom Act to counter Big Tech’s growing influence through EU digital regulations and enforcement tools.
Titled Big Tech, Fair Play: PSM Rights and Remedies Under the EU Digital Legal Framework, the guide outlines the challenges public service media face from global platforms and provides practical remedies to defend their EU digital rights.
“Big Tech shapes what audiences see and their motivations are about profit, not the public good. This has instigated and enflamed debates in many countries. Proper enforcement of regulations and effective regulatory oversight can help balance the scales,” said EBU’s Director of Legal & Policy, Richard Burnley.
Burnley added, “Today, we release our guide for public service media to understand their rights and help consider appropriate legal remedies vis-à-vis these global platforms in the EU’s digital rulebook. It gives them the legal clarity and tools they need to defend their visibility, independence, and vital role in our democracies.”
According to the EBU, obstacles in content distribution, reduced discoverability, and data exploitation are among the EU digital rulebook most pressing concerns. The guide aims to ensure PSM can continue delivering trustworthy, independent news and diverse programming despite mounting commercial pressures from Big Tech hubs in Europe.
US Leaders and Tech Giants Criticize EU’s Digital Regulations
The EBU guide’s timing aligns with ongoing disagreements between the US concerning the presence of Big Tech companies in Europe over the Union’s approach to regulating the digital economy.
Top US politicians and Big Tech giants have repeatedly criticized the EU’s regulatory actions, with the DSA EU law taking the biggest blow from the US. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are deemed by the US and its tech giants as disproportionate, strictly aimed at US-based platforms and deter innovation.
The European Media Freedom Act has long stood its ground, with European lawmakers seeing these rules as a requirement to protect competition, consumers’ rights, and democratic principles, their critics see them as unduly interventionist steps creating disproportionate costs for foreign firms to adapt.
Over the past few months, the case has been built as US officials urged Brussels to reconsider certain provisions, particularly in terms of content moderation and platform responsibilities. Big Tech Europe companies have also been concerned about how inflexible data use rules would impact business practice and ad models.
EBU’s new guide positions itself as a countermeasure, equipping European media and broadcasting channels with the knowledge and strategies to push back against perceived overreach by global platforms.
“From content visibility to control over user data, the battle lines are drawn,” the EBU noted in its announcement. “This guide empowers PSM to take informed legal action where Big Tech infringes on their rights under the EU digital legal framework.”
By clarifying available remedies and encouraging active enforcement, the EBU hopes to strengthen the position of EU tech laws in media in a rapidly shifting digital landscape where technology and regulation increasingly collide.
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