European publishers challenge Council position on Digital Omnibus over journalism funding
The European Publishers Council has criticised EU member states’ negotiating position on the Digital Omnibus, warning that proposed changes to data protection rules could limit publishers’ ability to finance journalism through advertising and subscriptions. The Council’s agreement opens negotiations with the European Parliament, giving lawmakers an opportunity to revise the text.
The European Publishers Council (EPC) has urged EU lawmakers to revise the Council’s position on the Digital Omnibus, arguing that the proposed approach to personal data could leave news organisations with fewer ways to fund their reporting.
The position agreed by Member States gives the Council Presidency a mandate to negotiate with the European Parliament. EPC Executive Director Angela Mills Wade said the text risks undermining the financial foundations of independent journalism, potentially leading to more paywalls and fewer freely accessible news sources.
The organisation welcomed two changes in the Council’s position: the removal of a proposal to centralise users’ preferences at browser level, which EPC said could give browser providers greater control over publishers’ relationships with readers, and supportive language on the media sector in the text’s recitals. However, it argued that these changes do not address its concerns about the binding provisions.
A central issue is how the proposal treats personal data used to develop artificial intelligence and data used by publishers to finance their services. According to EPC, the text explicitly recognises legitimate interests as a legal basis for processing personal data to develop and operate AI, while retaining consent requirements that constrain publishers’ use of first-party data.
Publishers use first-party data gathered through their direct relationships with readers to support advertising and subscription models. EPC argues that the proposal does not provide comparable flexibility for this activity, despite the differences in scale and context between publishers’ relationships with their audiences and AI systems’ processing of personal information.
The Council’s proposed exception for contextual advertising also fails to address publishers’ concerns, according to EPC. The organisation argues that the benefits could accrue disproportionately to large digital platforms, reinforcing their existing position in the advertising market.
EPC has called on the European Parliament and the Council to establish workable consent rules and proportionate flexibility for publishers to use first-party data, while maintaining privacy safeguards and meaningful user control.
