Regulating Beyond Media to Protect Media Pluralism: The EU Media Policies as Seen Through the Lens of the Media Pluralism Monitor

Media pluralism can and must be preserved in the EU, but day-by-day the task grows more difficult. Only a fine-tuned combination of complementary legal measures can secure a diverse, safe social media sphere where fundamental rights of expression are protected within online platforms. The EU faces both internal challenges (disparity between national legislatures, for example) and external barriers (the most powerful social media companies are foreign based) preventing simple, clear-cut solutions from emerging. Our chapter suggests a concrete path forward based on the intersection of two popular, relevant measures: an synthesized network of regulators and legislators, and wide regulatory framework which permits direct intervention on national levels. It is the task of this essay, now, and the Media Pluralism Monitor in future instances to regularly consider and rethink the realities surrounding an evolving media sphere.