Activities of Gilles LEBRETON related to 2017/2209(INI)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (26)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
- having regard to the fact that the EU is making frightening steps towards deciding what opinions are allowed according to the EU and thereby threatening freedom of speech for EU citizens by enabling censorship and EU propaganda;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes with regret that insufficient attention has been paid to the concentration of media ownership in Member States; recalls that EU competition rules play an important role inpoints out the need to preventing the creation or abuse of dominant positions in the media; calls therefore on the EU Member States and local authorities to monitor media concentration and to provide easily accessible information on media ownership and economic influence over media, to keep the public fully informed about media ownership and media dependence, and to take measures to reduce that concentration;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18
Citation 18
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
- having regard to the fact that propaganda is spread to eliminate political incorrectness from Brussels;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 a (new)
Citation 23 a (new)
- having regard to the fact that the EU stated their plans to combat 'euroscepticism' in the Union in the EU for Citizens report and the current developments of the suggestion of an EU media quality mark where chair De Cock Buning proactively researches 'fake news' with her taskforce, is demonstrating that freedom in the EU is under serious threat;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of opinion are fundamental human rights and indispensable conditions for the full development of the person, for the realisation of the principles of transparency and, accountability and for the fulfilment of other human rights and fundamental freedomsdiscovery of truth; therefore should we safeguard these precious rights of freedom of expression and freedom of opinion at all cost and not allow the EU to judge what is the truth;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas freedom of speech and freedom of expression are the cornerstones of our societies and should remain protected at all cost;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reiterates its call on all Member States where defamation is a criminal offence to decriminalise it and to ensure that defamation laws respect the right to freedom of expression in conformity with European and international human rights standards;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that whistle-blowers are a crucial resource for democracy and for investigative journalism and an independent press; calls on the Commission; calls on the EU Member States, therefore, to provide EU-wide protection in accordance with the Union objectives of democracy, pluralism of opinion and freedom of expressguarantee their protection;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Highlights that the fight against ‘fake news’, namely false news and other disinformation that is spread deliberately via the media, should not result in restricting freedom of internet usage; calls for the Member States and EU institutions to devote sufficient resources to tackling disinformation; is satisfied with the work of the East StratCom Task Force and the establishment of the High Level Expert Group on fake news and online disinformationresist the temptation to use this fight to restrict that freedom.
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides the right to freedom of expression and information, which includes the right of freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas, recalling the Council of Europe, whistleblowing is a fundamental aspect of freedom of expression and plays a central role in deterring and preventing wrongdoing, and in strengthening democratic accountability and transparency; whereas the adequate protection of whistleblowers at EU, national and international level is a precondition for ensuring the effectiveness of such a role;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls onWelcomes the Member States to take adequate measures to safeguard and promote a pluralist, independent and free media landscape in the service of democratic society, including the independence and sustainability of public service media and communitythe media, which are crucial elements of a favourable environment for freedom of expression;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls onReminds the EU institutions to guarantee full implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in all their decisions, actions and policies, as a means to thoroughly uphold media pluralism and media freedom; asks the Commission, in this regard, to introduce human rights impact assessments for the evaluation of its legislative proposals and to present a proposal for the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in line with the relevant Parliament resolutionhat all citizens have a guaranteed right to freedom of speech; calls on the EU institutions to respect this right of EU citizens to freedom of speech in all their decisions, actions and policies, as a means to thoroughly uphold media pluralism and media freedom;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Expresses its deep concern at the abuses, crimes and deadly attacks still being committed against journalists and media workers in the Member States; urges the Member States to do their utmost to prevent such violence, to ensure accountability and avoid impunity and to guarantee that victims and their families have access to the appropriate legal remedies; calls on the; welcomes Member States, moreover, to fully implement Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)4 on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on theWelcomes initiatives of Member States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and secure environment for journalists and other media actors, enabling them to perform their work in full independence and without undue interference – such as the threat of violence, harassment, financial, economic and political pressure, pressure to disclose confidential sources and materials, and targeted surveillance; highlights the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, and the opinion of the 'EU versus disinformation';
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the importance of ensuring adequate working conditions for journalists and media workers, in full compliance with the requirements of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter, as a means to avoid undue internal and external pressure, dependency, vulnerability and instability, and hence the risk of self- censorship; highlights that independent journalism cannot be guaranteed and fostered by the market alone; asks the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to promote and elaborate new socially sustainable economic models aimed at financing and supporting quality and independent journalism;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that the participation in democratic processes is founded, first and foremost, on effective and non- discriminatory access to information and knowledge; calls for the EU and its Member States to develop adequate policies to attain universal access to the internet and to recognise internet access – including net neutrality – as a fundamental righwelcomes initiatives of the EU Member States to guarantee freedom of access to the internet and to recognise the neutrality of the internet;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Deplores the broad and extremely imprecise scope of the Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online, promoted by the Commission, and the large margin of manoeuvre left to private companies to determine what constitutes ‘illegality’, which could potentially leads to censorship and arbitrary restrictions on freedom of expression; stresses that such censorship and attempts to limit freedom of expression are already happening in Germany and may occur in France soon too;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recognises that the new digital environment has exacerbated the problem of the spread of disinformation, or the so- called ‘fake’ or ‘false’ news; recalls, however, that this is not a new phenomenon, nor is it restricted to the online sphere; stresses the importance of effective systems of self-regulation which are based on the principles of accuracy and transparency and which provide for proper obligations and instruments regarding source verification and fact checkingnabled citizens to discover the truth about various issues that before where only to be found in newspapers and books; stresses the importance of maintaining a citizens' fundamental right of freedom of speech and free access to pluralistic and diverse media, including self-published opinions such as blogs;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Stresses the importance of media pluralism and media freedom and that by allowing the EU to judge what is the truth and what is not the truth is threatening the freedom civilians have in the Union;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Reminds the EU institutions that Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights gives EU citizens the right of freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Deplores the fact that the monopoly position of certain social media enterprises is being enforced by some Member States who are assigning them with a special duty to provide so-called ‘uncensored’ and ‘unbiased’ information;