AMA’s Chair, Armela Krasniqi, participated in the roundtable discussion titled “Digital Platforms and the Online Media Governance in Albania”, organized in Tirana by UNESCO, who is leading a global debate on the digital platforms governance, AMA’s Chairwoman shared the Authority’s potential to lead the process bridging traditional broadcast regulation and the emerging challenges of the digital audiovisual environment, also AMA’s capacity to contribute with its expertise, institutional knowledge and regulatory experience to the development of legal frameworks in the audio and audiovisual field.
“Today, all of us, regulators, media and the public are facing a constantly evolving media landscape, where the influence of digital platforms brings new challenges to the information integrity, freedom of expression and the very oversight, self-regulation or co-regulation of this environment”, said Krasniqi. “The first steps have already been taken: we now have the Digital Services Act and the European Media Freedom Act, which establish new standards beyond national approaches for the digital platforms governance. These important Acts support us not only in regulation but also in aligning with European standards and reaffirming our commitment to media pluralism and independence”.
At the end of last year, following a consultation process, AMA approved the regulation “On the specific requirements that Video Sharing Platform providers must meet for the establishment and provision of transparent, effective and user-friendly systems”. This regulation specifically addresses the legal framework governing Video Sharing Platforms and also aims to regulate the general conditions under which audiovisual content is provided by users on these platforms. It does not affect supporting services of audiovisual broadcasting whose key purpose is the provision of programs for information, entertainment or education.
“This initial step in drafting, consulting and approving this important bylaw reflects our commitment and readiness to regulate new forms of content sharing. This alignment process not only raises regulatory standards at the national level but also supports the integration of the Albanian media market into the European sphere”, – added Krasniqi. The concrete amendments to the Law “On Audiovisual Media in the Republic of Albania” have gone beyond Video Sharing Platforms to include other key areas of regulation, such as the co-regulation and self-regulation concepts in the development of codes of conduct, media literacy and media ownership transparency.
UNESCO’s initiative on the Digital Platforms Governance was formalized last year in Croatia with the establishment of the Global Network of Networks, in which Krasniqi participated in her capacity as the MNRA network Chair. Following this global forum and after the publication of the Guidelines aimed at protecting the right to freedom of expression, access to information and other human rights in the digital platforms governance, today in Tirana the findings of the regional study for Albania were presented. The study focuses on the current state of the regulatory framework governing social media platforms and online media, as well as the key challenges related to content moderation and the selection of verified, public interest information on social networks.
The study covers the Western Balkan countries and Turkey.
