University of Luxembourg Professor, Mark D. Cole has been nominated by the Council of Europe to serve as an independent expert on the Committee of Experts on Media Environment and Reform.
Set-up by the Committee of Ministers, this newly established Committee of Experts is a subordinate body operating under the Human Rights section. It will be active for a period of two years and serve to prepare reports for the Council bodies dealing with the future regulation of the changing media landscape.
In this respect, the Committee has been tasked with preparing a series of recommendations and guiding principles on specific topics related to, among others, the risks associated with the societal shift from established media channels to social media, election communication and media coverage of electoral campaigns, as well as policy/regulatory requirements related to the prioritisation of public interest content on relevant social and search platforms and other news aggregators. Special emphasis will be given to the impact of the Committee’s proposed recommendations on freedom of expression and information.
Professor Mark D. Cole, who specialises in Media Law with a research emphasis on the law concerning online services and platforms as well as European Media Law, joins the group of thirteen members which includes representatives from seven European Union Member States and six independent experts, each demonstrating recognised expertise in the fields of freedom of expression and both online and offline media policy.
Regarding his nomination, Professor Cole commented: “I am honoured to join the Committee of Experts on Media Environment and Reform and have the opportunity to help shape future public policy in these topics which have quickly become so relevant to our modern lives. It fits perfectly to the research I am currently undertaking concerning the future regulatory approach of the EU to the “platform world” and the work for the Council of Europe will allow an even broader approach both geographically and content-wise. The way media and communication work today has significantly departed from even the situation a decade ago and the regulation of the sector will have to follow.”
Professor Cole continued, “I have already worked closely with the Council of Europe through the European Audiovisual Observatory for which we author reports regularly – most recently on co- and self-regulation in the media sector – and appreciate the important work in strengthening democratic and human rights principles in all its Member States”.
Find out more about how the European Council protects and promotes human rights on their website.