At least one-fifth of Netflix and Amazon's streaming catalog in Europe will have to be reserved for community-produced films, series and shows. It is one of the proposals for the digital single market presented today by the European Commission.
The EU executive wants television broadcasters to continue to reserve at least half of the transmission time for European works and aims to oblige streaming service providers to guarantee at least 20% of European productions in their catalogues. The proposal also provides that Member States may ask streaming services available on national territory to contribute financially to the creation of European works.
“These new rules defend media pluralism and the independence of audiovisual regulators – wrote Günther Oettinger, EU commissioner for the digital economy -. We will also make sure that hate speech has no place on video sharing platforms”.
According to the new rules, in fact, sites like Youtube will have to protect minors from violent or pornographic content and avoid transmitting any type of incitement to hatred. To this end, tools allowing users to report illegal content, age verification mechanisms and parental control systems should be introduced.
The Commission will invite all video-sharing platforms to work together in the so-called 'Alliance to better protect minors online' to develop a code of conduct for the sector.
National audiovisual regulators will not simply self-regulate, but will have the power to enforce the rules, which, depending on the provisions of national laws, may also lead to penalties.
As for electronic commerce, "in Europe it doesn't work in the best way", said Elzbieta Bienkowska, EU commissioner for industry. This is why Brussels is proposing to eliminate "geoblocking" from next year, ie the mechanism that currently limits the search for products and services that can be purchased online to the web pages of the users' country of origin, preventing them from looking for cheaper prices on foreign sites. This is what happens, for example, with the e-commerce of companies that sell trips or rent cars.
“Discrimination between EU consumers based on the objective of segmenting markets along national borders has no place in the single market – said Bienkowska -. With clearer rules, better enforcement and cheaper delivery for cross-border parcels it will be easier for consumers and businesses to make the most of the EU's single market and cross-border trade."
Indeed, in a related proposal, the Commission called for making cross-border parcel delivery more convenient by introducing greater price transparency and promoting competition. The Commission's proposals will now have to be approved by individual Member States and the European Parliament.
