The EU adopts a ‘Media Freedom’ law, where ‘freedom’ doesn’t mean what you think it does — RT World News

The new European Union Freedom of Media Law It was now I voted on the lawBy 464 votes to 92, with 65 abstentions.

There are some media outlets I'd like to see cover the vote. Like RT, where you're reading this now. But anyone watching this from inside the EU's bastion of democracy and freedom is likely doing so via a VPN connection routed through somewhere outside the bloc, circumventing press censorship.

Nothing in this new law suggests that this will change, or that there will be increased access to information and analysis for the average person. Such improved freedoms may lead to people making their own decisions rather than offering different flavors of a similar narrative for mass consumption. As has become the norm in so-called Western democracies, inconvenient facts and analyzes will continue to be dismissed as… “misinformation” Criticism of the establishment is still seen as an attempt to sow division – as if opposition itself was not supposed to be evidence of a healthy, vibrant democracy.

So, now that we have abandoned any hope of lifting top-down EU censorship in the absence of due process, what kind of lip service does this new law provide for the noble concept of media freedom?

Do not spy on journalists or pressure them to reveal their sources. Well, unless you're one of the countries that has lobbied to be able to continue to do so – like France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden and Finland – that's a quarter of the EU. Oh, but they have to cite national security concerns in order to do so. Which, as we know, they are very particular about. For example, they have never implemented a virtual police state Expanding its powers Under the guise of fighting the virus that French President Emmanuel Macron kept saying they were infected with “In the war.” Amnesty International did not do so point out Sweeping “Orwellianism” The trend across Europe, at least since 2017, is to exploit domestic terrorist attacks to permanently incorporate what were intended to be extraordinary powers into criminal law, through measures such as “Broad definitions of terrorism.” Therefore, there is no doubt that they would be equally logical when slapped “A threat to national security” Label a journalist whose work they want a peek at.

At least now, under this new law, they must fully inform any targeted journalist of the steps being taken against them.

The other thing that changes is that there has to be a central database that can be accessed “All news and current affairs media, regardless of size, will have to publish information about their owners.” According to a European Union press release. Can we suggest a prime candidate for this? The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders praised this new law as a new law “A major step forward for the right to information within the European Union.” The same NGO has also just launched a project “Svoboda” (Russian l “freedom”) The satellite package is eventually formed “Up to 25 independent Russian-language radio and television channels” Targeting Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic countries. The project was launched in the European Union Parliament, in the presence of the European Union “Values ​​and Transparency” Commissioner (yes, that's her real title), Vera Jourova, who He said In support of the new media law “It is a threat to those who want to use state power, as well as financial power, to make the media dependent on them.” but she He also said About this new initiative targeting Russia that the European Union country needs “Use all possible means to ensure that their work, facts and information reach Russian-speaking people.” This is the same person who called for Russia-linked media to be banned in the European Union.

Anyway, you guys first. Show everyone how it's done. Does this also mean that all financial interests in the form of advertising spend must also be declared by the company's media? Because state-supported media platforms are already transparent; It is the discretionary interests that underpin commercial platforms that tend to be less visible to audiences. The public may not know or understand, for example, why a particular corporate media outlet might focus on a particular nation-state through softball interviews, travel clips, and fluffy documentaries, treating it with kid gloves in news coverage, when in fact it The same country pumps a ton of advertising revenue into the venue.

In any case, Queen Ursula von der Leyen's battalion of bureaucratic clerical knights is now set to grow in its ranks with the emergence of a new “European Media Services Council” Online as a result of the new law. Because freedom will not police itself, my friend.

Same name Freedom of Media Law Really the first proof that maybe it's not so much about freedom. Kind of like how “European Peace Facility” The fund is used to buy weapons, or “election” The selection of a hand-picked EU commissioner is actually what any normal country would call a confirmation vote.

It is a pretty safe bet that whenever the EU pushes virtue signaling to extremes, using feel-good language to sell it, the reality may be the opposite of what is advertised.