RSF - Reporters sans frontières

11/10/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/10/2025 08:54

Preserving democracy by ensuring access to reliable information: RSF and the EBU call on the European Union to take action

A few days before the presentation of the European Democratic Shield, Reporters WIthout Borders (RSF) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have released an open letter urging European Union (EU) institutions to ensure effective access to reliable information for all citizens, regardless of which media service they use to stay informed. Measures such as promoting reliable sources of information on social media or regulating AI assistants are necessary to make our information space healthier and better serve freedom of opinion and expression.

"Free societies rest on a shared foundation of verifiable facts. Without this, democratic debate turns into noise, people retreat into irreconcilable 'filter bubbles,' and extremism thrives alongside information fatigue. Making the right to reliable information enforceable requires guaranteeing access to journalistic sources online. It's time for public decision-makers within the EU - now gripped by the fever of polarised opinions - to meet this challenge. The European Union has taken steps in this direction, notably with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). Let's go further. 'Due prominence' gives citizens the means to be informed - and, therefore, the ability to make informed choices - within a digital space that finally reflects our democratic values.

Thibaut Bruttin
Director General of Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

On 12 November, the European Commission will present its measures for establishing a European Democratic Shield aimed at combating malicious foreign interference and disinformation. For RSF and the EBU, this plan is only a first step and should lead to legislative proposals designed to:

  • Ensure the prominence of trustworthy general interest media on all devices (connected TVs, remote controls, voice assistants, etc.) that citizens use to access information;
  • Require social media algorithms to, by default, give greater visibility to content from reliable sources instead of enabling the proliferation of disinformation and propaganda;
  • Regulate AI-based services so that they meet minimum standards for media pluralism and the integrity of information.
Published on10.11.2025
  • EUROPE - CENTRAL ASIA
  • France
  • Belgium
  • Germany
  • Netherlands
  • Spain
  • Luxembourg
  • Portugal
  • Croatia
  • Austria
  • Finland
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • Lithuania
  • Estonia
  • Latvia
  • Hungary
  • Slovakia
  • Czechia
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • Slovenia
  • Poland
  • Ireland
  • Malta
  • Cyprus
  • Romania
  • Bulgaria
  • Disinformation and propaganda
  • Digital space and democracy
  • News
  • Advocacy
  • European Union
  • Right to news and information
  • Democracy
  • Digital arena
  • Platforms

Document lié

Lettre ouverte de RSF et l'UER appelant à garantir l'accès des citoyens à l'information fiable.pdf
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