Maria João Rodrigues, president of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and Advisory Board Chairwoman of Re-Imagine Europa, highlighted the critical role of the media in democracy, security, and sovereignty during the closing remarks of the Stars4Media ‘Democracy & Maison du MédiaLab‘ conference, organised by the Europe Médialab. “There is a clear perception that the media ecosystem is a fundamental instrument for democracy and, as we now understand better, it is also very important for security and, ultimately, for sovereignty,” Rodrigues emphasised. The conference brought together hundreds of media representatives, experts and policymakers, including the European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, the Vice-President of the European Parliament Sabine Verheyen, and former Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová. All participants agreed on the need and urgency to enforce European regulations to protect citizens’ digital rights and access to free information, including the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act and the Media Freedom Act.
Rodrigues underscored the necessity of building European capabilities for a strong, resilient and competitive media in response to geostrategic and technological challenges such as the overconcentration of power in figures like Elon Musk and the transformative impact of AI on information production and dissemination. Citing the recent elections in Romania and the upcoming elections in Germany, she warned: “Democracy can be derailed and undermined by powerful media tools”. To counter these risks and protect citizens’ digital and media rights, she added, Europe needs “to build our own capacity to provide alternative reliable, transparent, plural information. We need to build the European media system“.
Addressing technological challenges, Rodrigues called attention to the near monopolistic influence of certain digital platforms that dominate the information landscape. “Their business model, is not about providing access to reliable information. Their business model is to reach larger audiences to make the necessary profits to go on expanding their influence”. In face of this, many of the experts and policymakers participating in the conference remarked the need to enforce effectively the European regulations. Rodrigues added to this aim the need to “create the conditions for new European platforms for media to emerge“.
AI impact on the media
One of the most significant technological challenges facing democratic societies today is the rise of AI and its profound impact on the media. This critical issue was thoroughly examined during a panel discussion on Economic Resilience and Digital Sovereignty. Renata Schroeder, Director of the European Journalist Association, highlighted the pivotal role of big platforms, “with their opaque algorithms delivering content without any liability”, while journalists and media organisations must adhere to strict accountability standards. She expressed concern over the “extremely worrying” behaviour of the incoming U.S. President, Donald Trump, and of major social media platforms, which she described as showing “total disrespect for fact-checking and independent journalism”. Schroeder also emphasised the dependency of legacy media on big tech companies for innovation, training, and the adoption of generative AI technologies. Erika Staël von Holstein, CEO of Re-Imagine Europa, while recognising these challenges, invited participants to “update our thinking. What used to be a big challenge when we did the transition into a digital world, can be a huge opportunity when we transition into an AI world”. Fragmentation of the market, multiple languages, pluralism, “all these are strenghts in the AI world”, she added. “Now is the time to build an infraestructure that transform these elements into strenghs, so we can win the game”, she added.
Maria João Rodrigues agreed in her final remarks that “we see emerging an European public space reshaped by the influence of big platforms and AI, and the interference of global powers”. To transform these challenges into big opportunities for Europe, she added, “we need to build instruments to counter these big powers and to enable Europe to build its own capacities, with its own approach”. In a moment in which the EU is identifying its critical infraestructures in energy or access to broadband, “we should also start working on the critical infraestructure to support media work, to bring down the cost of delivering reliable, transparent and plural information. This is a European critical infraestructure to promote European public good and the time has come to put this in the list of critical infraestructures to develop”. A second crucial task would be to develop “an AI aligned with our values and concerns, with human rights, cultural diversity, linguistic diversity”. All this, she added, should be part of the European budget. And the private initiative should also take advantage of this.
Rodrigues finalised her remarks with a call for a “European citizen movement calling for the right to reliable, transparent, professional information, the same way that we have citizens movements calling for a cleaner environment. We need a powerful citizens movement calling for a truthful, reliable media environment”. “Citizens will be the decisive factor”, she concluded.