The Council of Europe published a report on "The Role of Regulators in Countering Harmful Content: Western Balkans Regional Peer Exchange for Regulatory Authorities” which provides an overview of the role of regulators in countering harmful content as well as exploring good practice and experiences throughout the Western Balkan jurisdictions.

This extensive report focuses on the approach of regulators when cooperating with media platforms, working with government authorities, navigating self-regulatory processes and tackling content issues, such as during election cycles. Additionally, it discusses the challenges, considerations and provisions confronting the Western Balkans regarding the alignment of their domestic frameworks with European standards such as the relevant Council of Europe Recommendations, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).

The report outlines the key takeaways from the Regional Peer Exchange that took place in Budva, Montenegro on 25-26 June 2024, which gathered media regulatory authorities from the Western Balkans and the United Kingdom. It highlights the importance of having clear and distinct definitions for terms such as ‘disinformation’ and ‘harmful content’. Participants agree that harmonisation of definitions and terms should be used as the starting point and are vital to effectively draft national laws, by-laws and regulatory codes in line with Council of Europe and European Union standards.

Moreover, this report emphasises the importance of collaboration amongst regulators, but also between platforms, media organisations, governments and civil society with regards to creating a multi-stakeholder approach to regulation strategies and solutions.  This prompts a wider analysis of issues involving the transparency of media ownership, the influence of election advertising and the lack of regulation of online news portals in the Western Balkans.

Finally, the central and overarching matter of discussion concerns the necessity for regional cooperation between the Western Balkans’ regulators. The Western Balkans Network of Media Regulatory Authorities will be supported by the Council of Europe in 2025 and beyond.

The document is available on the Council of Europe Freedom of Expression website. It was developed within the regional action on “Protecting freedom of expression and of the media”, implemented by the Council of Europe Division for Cooperation on Freedom of Expression. Тhis action is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.