The European Media Freedom Act reached a crucial milestone on August 8, 2025, marking the full implementation of groundbreaking protections for journalists across the European Union. The landmark regulation establishes unprecedented safeguards against surveillance of media professionals while introducing transparency requirements for media ownership and state advertising allocation.
According to the European Parliament, “8 August 2025 marks the entry into application of the EMFA — a landmark for press freedom in the EU.” The regulation enhances transparency of media outlet ownership and allocation of state advertising, strengthens public media independence, and secures robust protection for journalists and their sources.
The legislation addresses critical concerns about journalistic surveillance through intrusive software deployment. Member States face strict limitations on deploying what the regulation terms “intrusive surveillance software” against media service providers, their editorial staff, or individuals with regular professional relationships with journalists.
The European Media Freedom Act’s surveillance protections arrive amid growing concerns about digital surveillance tools deployed across EU member states. European authorities have increasingly relied on sophisticated data analysis software from companies like Palantir, the controversial US tech firm co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel.
German regional police forces have used downsized versions of Palantir’s “Gotham” software for years to connect different databases, despite criticism over insufficient legal foundations. Civil society activists initiated lawsuits against Bavaria’s use of such software, highlighting the contentious nature of surveillance tool deployment.
France’s Directorate-General for Internal Security extended an existing Palantir contract in 2019, originally signed after the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. Europol deployed the company’s software in its terrorist attack response taskforce, though documents obtained by The Guardian revealed performance issues so severe that the EU law enforcement agency considered legal action over the software’s “inability to properly visualize large datasets.”
Multiple countries including the Netherlands and Greece deployed Palantir’s Foundry software during the Covid-19 pandemic to monitor case locations and assess transmission factors. The company expanded its European presence further during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, working with Polish authorities to build refugee job placement portals.
