EPRA convenes in Limassol for 60th meeting

Key themes on EPRA's agenda: artificial intelligence in the media sector & fighting hateful content

The 60th EPRA meeting is taking place on 23-25 October 2024 in Limassol. This closed event, hosted by the Cyprus Radio-Television Authority, will gather about 130 delegates representing 45 member authorities, permanent observers and invited experts who will exchange on timely issues pertaining to media regulation in Europe.

• Under the guidance of EPRA Chair Mari Velsand, the Agora session on the morning of 23 October will highlight key developments among EPRA members and permanent observer organisations. This will also be an opportunity to hear from REFRAM, the French-speaking network of media regulators, and for a focus on Media Transparency with a presentation of the Cyprus Integrity Forum.

Exploring the roles that media regulators can play in the changing media landscape will be at the core of the thematic sessions on, respectively, "AI's impact on media" and "Fighting hateful content".

• Thematic session 1 "AI's impact on media and implications for media regulators": Following up on the discussions held in spring on "AI tools for media regulators", this session will raise the awareness of EPRA members on the place of AI in the media value chain and on the challenges that AI raises for media companies and regulation and identify issues specific to the media sector where the expertise of media regulators might be required. EPRA Vice-Chair Valentin Jucan and keynote/Content producer Roland Belfin (RTR - AT) will facilitate a debate with experts and the audience, featuring inputs from Jeannette Gorzala (Act.AI.Now), Alexandra Borchardt (lead author, EBU News Report 2024), and Cristina Nicolotti Squires (Ofcom - UK).

• Thematic session 2 on "Fighting hateful content", chaired by EPRA Vice-Chair Stanislav Matějka, and content-produced by Maida Ćulahović, ZaštoNe? (BiH), will showcase a range of complementary approaches to fight online hate with inputs from the academic(Jörg Matthes, University of Vienna), industry(Aedín Conboy, TikTok)and regulatory perspectives(Michel Winkels, LfM - DE). EPRA members will then participate in facilitated round table discussions focusing on the role of media regulators in detecting, monitoring and reporting online hate speech, the challenges they face, and how they can prevent abuses.

EPRA provides an independent, agile and participatory forum that allows 55 audiovisual regulators in Europe (beyond the EU) to share information, best practices, experiences and expertise. EPRA does not take common positions but seeks to encourage independent, transparent and professional regulation and to raise awareness among its members of the consequences of the upheavals in the media ecosystem and to support them in the necessary evolution of media regulation practices.

• Agenda of the meeting
• Introduction to the speakers

Source: EPRA Secretariat