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Resolution 2254 (2019)
Media freedom as a condition for democratic elections
1. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls
that free elections are a pillar of every democratic society. The electorate
cannot be said to have genuine freedom of choice if that choice
is not a well-informed one; consequently, the right to freedom of
information and media freedom are essential preconditions of the
right to free elections, in accordance with Article 3 of the Protocol
to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 9). The media
must be free to inform the public, without being subject to any
political, economic or other pressure, and with due regard for professional
ethics.
2. The professional media are subject to various obligations
designed to ensure balanced and impartial coverage of elections
and fair participation in the election process of all candidates
and political parties.
3. Alongside the professional media, new media players have arrived
on the scene: social media. They are having an increasing impact
on the public, including during election campaigns: they enable
political parties and candidates to pass on their messages “directly”
to the electorate, and are a means for their supporters to disseminate
those messages.
4. In many countries, social media are not subject to the general
regulations governing the media or to the specific rules that apply
at election times. Moreover, the particular nature of online communication
makes it difficult to apply to social media the principles which
the professional media must respect. Most attempts at regulation
have failed to yield convincing results of compliance; other attempts
have been heavy-handed and have amounted to censorship. Furthermore,
sites which have been closed down can respond by creating “mirror
sites” beyond national borders, which makes the sanctions adopted
by domestic authorities less effective. There is also a lack of
self-regulation by social media, which often disregard the conventions
that have been widely accepted by the professional media.
5. Given the existing legal gaps, the various forms of malevolent
online communication endanger the smooth and fair conduct of the
electoral process and, ultimately, of democracy itself. Today, there
is sufficient proof that autocratic regimes and anonymous stakeholders
or interest groups use social media to manipulate public opinion
with false news, co-ordinated disinformation campaigns, and trolls
or bots to attack not only candidates in the opposing camp, but
also human rights defenders, activists, civil society groups and journalists.
Furthermore, even though recent research seems to show that social
media users are exposed to more diverse information sources than
those not using online sources, “filter bubbles” and “echo chambers” may
hamper the potential benefits of such positive exposure, compartmentalise
information flows and undermine internet users’ ability to think
critically, thus reinforcing prejudices.
6. In order to respond effectively to these problems, member
States should guarantee the right to information through independent
media; in addition, they should implement effective strategies to
protect the electoral process and democracy from the threat of information
manipulation and undue propaganda through social media.
7. In this context, the Assembly reiterates the obligations deriving
from Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS
No. 5) and the standards contained in numerous Council of Europe
texts, including the following recommendations of the Committee
of Ministers: Recommendation
CM/Rec(2007)15 on measures concerning media coverage of election campaigns, Recommendation
CM/Rec(2007)3 on the remit of public service media in the information
society, Recommendation
Rec(2004)16 on the right of reply in the new media environment, Recommendation
CM/Rec(2007)2 on media pluralism and diversity of media content, and
most recently Recommendation
CM/Rec(2018)1 on media pluralism and transparency of media ownership,
as well as Recommendation
Rec (2000) 23 on the independence and functions of regulatory authorities
for the broadcasting sector, and Recommendation No. R (97) 20 on “hate speech”, along with General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on combating hate speech, issued by the European Commission against
Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), and the Code
of Good Practice in Electoral Matters of the European Commission for Democracy through Law
(Venice Commission). It also points to the 2009 Guidelines
on Media Analysis during Election Observation Missions, the 2013 Report and the 2016 Guidelines for preventing
and responding to the misuse of administrative resources during
electoral processes, as well as the 2010 Guidelines on political
party regulation, all three issued jointly by the Venice Commission
and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR).
8. Accordingly, the Assembly calls on member States to review,
where necessary, their regulatory frameworks governing media coverage
of election campaigns, in order to bring them into line with Council
of Europe standards, ensuring in particular that they:
8.1. promote a free, independent
and pluralist media environment as an essential precondition for combating
disinformation and undue propaganda;
8.2. avoid media concentration, also paying attention to the
problem of cross ownership;
8.3. oblige, where this is not already the case, public and
private broadcast media to cover election campaigns fairly and impartially,
making sure that opposition parties benefit from balanced media coverage
in current affairs and information programmes, and introduce, along
with this obligation, appropriate penalties by setting up the necessary
monitoring and rectification mechanisms to ensure implementation
in practice;
8.4. limit to a strict minimum the use made of measures restricting
freedom of expression, which must not only be provided for by law
and have a legitimate aim, but also be necessary in a democratic
society; this means that such measures should not be arbitrary or
politically motivated;
8.5. guarantee for any party or candidate having been the victim
of false information broadcast by the media, including on the internet,
the right to rapid correction of that information and the right
to seek redress in court;
8.6. clearly distinguish between the campaign activities and
information activities of public and private media to ensure equity
among political competitors, as well as a conscious and free choice
for voters;
8.7. adopt strict rules on media coverage of government activities
to avoid media coverage of ceremonies attended or organised by the
government resulting in preferential treatment and undue advantages
for the parties in power and their candidates during elections;
8.8. guarantee, where political parties and candidates have
the right to purchase advertising space for election purposes, equal
treatment in terms of conditions and rates charged; in this context,
there should be a requirement for paid political advertising to
be readily recognisable as such;
8.9. ensure total transparency with regard to the public when
media are owned by political parties or politicians;
8.10. guarantee the editorial independence of public service
media, putting an end to any attempts to influence them or transform
them into governmental media: the use of public service media to
promote a specific political party or candidate must be classified
as illegal misuse of public funds;
8.11. enhance the operational capacities of media regulators
which must be independent of the political and economic powers;
in this regard:
8.11.1. ensure that the composition of these
bodies is politically neutral and based on media expertise and competence;
8.11.2. seek to reinforce their role so that they can contribute
more effectively to addressing the challenges posed by the use of
social media as a vehicle of political communication and to counter
information disorder.
9. Concerning more specifically the risks posed by disinformation
and undue propaganda on the internet and social media for the smooth
conduct of the electoral process, the Assembly calls on member States
to:
9.1. refrain from disseminating
or encouraging the dissemination on the internet of statements, communications
or news which they know or can reasonably be expected to know to
be disinformation or undue propaganda;
9.2. develop specific regulatory frameworks for internet content
at election times and include in these frameworks provisions on
transparency in relation to sponsored content published on social
media, so that the public can be aware of the source that funds
electoral advertising or any other information or opinion;
9.3. establish clear legal liability for social media companies
which publish illegal content harmful to candidates or violate essential
rules of media communication during election times;
9.4. ensure that sanctions provided for in relation to unlawful
content are not diverted to force self-censorship of opponents’
opinions and critical views, and limit the application of extreme
measures such as the blocking of entire websites, IP addresses,
ports or network protocols to the most serious cases, in full compliance
with the strict conditions set out in Article 10 of the European
Convention on Human Rights;
9.5. provide specific training for electoral management bodies
and media regulators, so that their members can gain a better understanding
of the new media environment, with a view to enhancing implementation
of regulations on political communication via social media;
9.6. encourage all stakeholders – including internet intermediaries,
media outlets, civil society and academia – to develop participatory
initiatives to enable the general public to have a better understanding
of the danger of disinformation and undue propaganda on the internet,
and to seek together appropriate responses to these phenomena.
10. The Assembly calls on professionals and organisations in the
media sector to:
10.1. develop self-regulation
frameworks that contain professional and ethical standards relating
to their coverage of election campaigns, including respect for human
dignity and the principle of non-discrimination;
10.2. ensure comprehensive and analytical coverage of election
campaigns and of candidates and their platforms, to enable the electorate
to make a more informed choice at the ballot box;
10.3. clearly distinguish between the activities of those in
power and the activities of representatives of political parties
running for election, ensuring that no preferential treatment is
given to those in power;
10.4. adopt strict internal rules and dissuasive penalties for
journalists and editors to prevent them from accepting money and
other benefits in return for positive coverage of a candidate;
10.5. avoid disseminating messages based on unverified information
or rumours designed to cause a scandal or for purposes of undue
propaganda; if such messages are deemed to be important or urgent, their
dissemination should be accompanied by a warning that the information
has not been verified;
10.6. expose any attempt to manipulate information during the
election campaign in the professional media or on social media platforms
and, in this context, establish strong and close co-operation within the
profession in order to combat disinformation and undue propaganda.
11. The Assembly calls on internet intermediaries to:
11.1. develop initiatives offering
users fact-checking services and tools to flag up misleading information,
and review their advertising models to ensure that they do not adversely
impact diversity of opinions and ideas;
11.2. co-operate with civil society and organisations of all
political affiliations specialising in the verification of content
to ensure that all information is confirmed by an authoritative,
third-party source;
11.3. support the research and development of appropriate technological
solutions which users may apply to detect disinformation and undue
propaganda.
12. The Assembly calls on the European Federation of Journalists
(EFJ) to promote among its members awareness of the issues addressed
in this resolution and to facilitate the pooling of experience and
good practices relating to the coverage of election campaigns. In
this connection, the Assembly calls on the EFJ to promote among
its members effective collaboration regarding fact-checking and
myth-busting, particularly at election time.
13. The Assembly calls on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
to continue to promote its guidelines and editorial principles and
to encourage European public service media to fully apply them,
keeping in mind their particular role during election campaigns
as an independent source of impartial, accurate and relevant information
and of a diverse range of political opinions. In this context, the
EBU should support active co-operation between its members to combat
disinformation and undue propaganda in general, and in particular during
election campaigns.
14. Finally, the Assembly believes that the Council of Europe
World Forum for Democracy could offer an adequate platform to discuss
different aspects related to media freedom, information and democracy challenges
in the digital age, with the participation of media outlets, social
media players, journalists’ associations, civil society organisations,
internet users and policy makers.