This week the Council of the European Union adopted the Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data and the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive, signifying the successful accomplishment of two key legislations proposed by the European Commission as part of the Digital Single Market strategy, directly benefiting to citizens and EU businesses...
The Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data that was adopted today will add the free flow of data to the set of freedoms already underpinning the European single market. Not only it will create legal certainty for businesses so that they can process their data anywhere in the EU, but it will also raise trust in cloud computing and counter vendor lock-in. As a result European businesses will benefit from a more competitive cloud market and advanced operational efficiency. Furthermore, the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive was adopted last Tuesday. The updated rules pave the way for a fairer regulatory environment for the entire audiovisual sector, including video-sharing platforms. They will strengthen the protection of minors against harmful content as well as the battle against hate speech and incitement to violence in all audiovisual content. At the same time they will stimulate European audiovisual productions and guarantee the independence of audiovisual regulators through a number of requirements listed in the Directive such as being legally distinct and functionally independent from the government and of any other public or private body. The Directive will enter into force by the end of 2018 and Member States will have 21 months to transpose it into national law. For more information about both legislations see here and here. For more information about the progress of all Digital Single Market initiatives see this factsheet.
