The European Media Freedom Act is now in force, described as a landmark for press freedom in the European Union. One of its provisions, a right of customisation of the media offering on devices and interfaces, such as connected televisions, will come into force in May 2027. It will enable users to change the default settings to reflect their own preferences.
New rules to protect freedom of media as well as the independence of journalists in the European Union were adopted in February 2024. The regulation entered progressively into application in European Union countries from May 2024, while its key provisions begin to be enforced from 8 August 2025.
The European Union law enhances transparency of media outlet ownership and of allocation of state advertising, strengthens public media independence, and secures robust protection for journalists and their sources. To ensure visibility and pluralism, digital platforms must refrain from arbitrarily deleting or restricting independent media content.
The rules do not apply to countries outside the European Union, including the United Kingdom, which left after a transition period at the end of 2020, in what was called Brexit.
“8 August 2025 marks the entry into application of the EMFA — a landmark for press freedom in the EU. But its true value will be measured in action, not words. Now begins the real work: ensuring every member state implements the EMFA fully and faithfully. Media freedom is not negotiable — it is the backbone of our democracy,” said Sabine Veheyen, who chairs the European Parliament working group scrutinising the implementation of the act.
The European Media Freedom Act or EMFA established the European Board for Media Services, or Media Board, an independent advisory body composed of representatives from national regulatory authorities of the media and audiovisual sectors. This succeeds the work of the former European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services, the ERGA.
The Media Board’s main goal is to promote the effective and consistent application of EU media law, including the EMFA and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive or AVMSD. Its remit covers all media sectors, including audiovisual media, the press, radio, vloggers and online platforms, reflecting the evolving nature of the media landscape.
“The successful implementation of the EMFA will depend on our collective ability to turn its principles into effective regulatory practice,” said Carlos Aguilar, the chair of the Media Board. “We have worked intensively to lay the groundwork for this transition. Now, we call on Member States to match this effort by ensuring that national authorities are properly resourced to meet their new responsibilities.”
While most of the provisions have entered into force, a provision concerning the right to customise media offerings does not come into effect until 8 May 2027.
Under Article 20, users shall have a right to easily change the configuration, including default settings, of any device or user interface controlling or managing access to and the use of media services providing programmes in order to customise the media offering in accordance with their interests or preferences in compliance with Union law.
There will be a requirement for manufacturers, developers and importers of devices and user interfaces to include a functionality enabling users to freely and easily change at any time their configuration, including default settings controlling or managing access to and use of the media services offered.
There is also a requirement to ensure the visual identity of media service providers to whose services their devices and user interfaces give access are consistently and clearly visible to the users.
The act requires European Union member states to “take appropriate measures to ensure that manufacturers, developers and importers of devices and user interfaces” comply with the regulation.
The Media Board is requred to “foster cooperation between media service providers, standardisation bodies or any other relevant stakeholders in order to promote the development of harmonised standards related to the design of devices or user interfaces … or to digital signals carried by such devices.”
Many manufacturers already provide features to enable consumers to configure services but from 8 May 2027 this will become a regulatory requirement.
The European Media Freedom Act is codified by Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 of the European Parliament, establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market, amending the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.