In a significant expansion of its regulatory power, Brussels is using the recently passed European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) to exert greater influence over member states’ internal affairs, dictating standards for media independence and oversight. The EU’s ‘Media Freedom Act’ (EMFA) took effect Friday, August 8th. While the EU hailed EMFA as “a major milestone for media freedom,” the regulation in fact paves the way for shackling free speech and centralizing media governance in the hands of the European Commission.
The Act, now fully binding, forces national governments to align their laws with an EU-defined framework or face potential infringement proceedings.
The irony is that the European Union, while presenting itself as a defender of media freedom, is simultaneously curtailing free speech by encouraging the censorship of right-wing and dissenting voices under the guise of combating ‘disinformation.’ This push for control is evident in the Act’s provisions on surveillance. Article 4 of the EMFA, allegedly intended to curb government surveillance, includes troubling loopholes that still allow for the use of intrusive spyware against journalists, activists, and other members of civil society. The clause outlines when governments can deploy spyware when justified by an “overriding reason of public interest,” a highly subjective term that could be bent by governments or Brussels.
Furthermore, the regulation allows surveillance for offenses punishable by at least three to five years in prison, a category that can include broadly defined crimes like ‘racism and xenophobia’ or, as in Germany’s case, ‘incitement to hatred.’ This means spyware could be used against journalists or political opponents if the national government can argue that the right legal justifications are in place.
Julie Majerczak, head of the Brussels office of Reporters Without Borders, warned, “Member states have had more than a year to update their national laws, but most of them haven’t yet done it. I think it is time for the Commission to show its determination and, if necessary, to initiate proceeding against the most recalcitrant government.”
But there’s evidence that many members of the bloc are reluctant to implement the EMFA as they fear they might be handing over part of their sovereignty to Brussels. In turn, the EU is now threatening to enforce the implementation of this dubious law.
This push for centralized control is framed around the Commission’s findings in its 2025 Rule of Law report, which highlight “smear campaigns by politicians” and “growing risks from highly concentrated media ownership.”
The report, unsurprisingly, found that “[t]he most serious breaches have been recorded in Poland and in Hungary”—countries where leaders are not toeing the line of Brussels’ progressive agenda.
What was supposedly meant to bolster press freedom may, in practice, become a backdoor for undermining it. With the EMFA now in force, the European Commission is positioned to directly challenge the sovereignty of member states, using the Act as a lever to ensure governments comply with its vision for media—a vision that may come at the cost of genuine political diversity and free speech.
