EPRA is a professional grouping of regulators in the field of broadcasting and audiovisual media services, which at the time of its establishment in 1995, declared its objective to seek consensus on the interpretation of the provisions of the Television without Frontiers Directive when implemented in the national legislation and was established as an initiative of national regulators. With twenty-five years of experience and a robust network of working-level contacts, EPRA is the oldest and largest network of media regulators. It provides an ideal platform for exchanging information between regulators in Europe.
The Council for Media Services has participated in EPRA activities since 1996 as a full member, in 2000 as an organiser of the twelfth EPRA meeting and in 2018 as an organiser of the forty-eighth EPRA meeting in Bratislava. In 2021, Luboš Kukliš, former Director of the Council for Media Services, was elected EPRA Chair during the online annual meeting of EPRA members. At the meeting in Oslo, Norway, at the end of May 2023, Mari Velsand, representing the Norwegian media regulator, was elected as the new EPRA Chair. Stanislav Matejka of the Slovak Council for Media Services, Stephanie Comey of the Irish regulator and Valentina Alexandru Jucana of the Romanian regulator were elected as the new vice-chairmen and vice-chairwomen, respectively; the position was also confirmed by the existing vice-chairwoman, Maria Donde of the UK's Ofcom.
The EPRA Strategy 2021-2023, adopted by Members in December 2020, is the general framework on which the Board's approach to developing the Work Programme is based. The strategy covers a number of current priorities: to accompany members in a changing ecosystem, to cooperate with bodies from neighbouring regulatory sectors, to be future-oriented and to cover relevant legal, social, economic and technological developments.
The consultation process made it clear that the EPRA membership community and several third parties are very supportive of the draft Work Programme for 2023. The Board adopted the final version of the Work Programme on 25 January 2023.
EPRA's main areas and priorities in 2023 are media and information for the public good and the future of content provision and implications for national regulators. To meet these priorities, EPRA is organising several events for its members, such as roundtables and workshops.
The EPRA Media and Information Literacy Taskforce ("EMIL") brings together several EPRA members as well as external organisations or platforms working in the field of media and information literacy (MIL). EMIL aims to promote coordination and education, connect and build partnerships with each other, and provide a platform to present to different platforms that address media literacy issues. In 2022, four EMIL meetings were held to discuss various topics, including disinformation, empowering children and youth, and funding.
The AI & Regulators Roundtables bring together EPRA members to informally discuss updates on the use of AI-based tools by or for national regulators and the impact of AI and machine learning on the roles of the media and regulators. In 2022, five roundtable meetings were held to share experiences on the use of AI tools in advertising and influencer regulation, monitoring of compliance, as well as in content classification and age verification methods of users.
The Video Sharing Platforms & Regulation ("VSP & Regulation") workshops aim to exchange best practices among EPRA members based on their experience regulating video-sharing platforms. Three workshops were held in 2022 to discuss the implementation of appropriate mechanisms under Article 28b of the AVMS Directive, a systemic approach to hate speech and age restrictions.
EPRA members will meet in person at two plenary sessions during 2023. A plenary meeting in the first half of the year will be held in Oslo, Norway, from 31 May to 2 June 2023. In the second half of the year, representatives of national regulators will attend a plenary meeting in Bucharest, Romania, from 18 to 20 October 2023.