The European Media Freedom Act, enacted in August 2025, allows journalist arrests if deemed in the “public interest,” a provision critics argue contradicts its stated goal of protecting press freedom, as evidenced by Articles 3(b) and 4(c) raising concerns about potential misuse by EU authorities.

Historical context reveals a shift in EU policy, with the 2022 Digital Services Act already imposing global censorship pressures on social media, as noted in a July 2025 House Judiciary Committee report, suggesting a pattern of expanding control over information that may now target journalists directly.

No peer-reviewed studies directly assess this act’s impact yet, but a 2021 study in the Journal of Democracy on authoritarian media control in Europe highlights how vague “public interest” clauses can enable suppression, supporting skepticism about the act’s democratic intent.

In any case, the shift in the European Union’s policy from supporting freedom of speech to oppressing it is clear and dangerous.