EUROPEAN MEDIA FREEDOM ACT (MEASURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION) ORDER

IMPLEMENTATION)

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 460.42

EUROPEAN MEDIA FREEDOM ACT (MEASURES

FOR IMPLEMENTATION) ORDER

7th August, 2025

LEGAL NOTICE 175 of 2025.

PART I

Preliminary

(1)

The title of this order is the European Media

Freedom Act (Measures for Implementation) Order.

(2)

The scope of this order is to implement the requirements

of Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 of the European Parliament and the

Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a common framework for media

services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU.

(3)

The provisions of article 17 shall come into force on the

8th May 2027.

(4)

In the case of conflict between the provisions of this

order and the provisions of any other national law, this order shall

prevail.

(1)

In this order, unless the context otherwise

requires

"EMFA" means Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024

establishing a common framework for media services in the

internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU (European

Media Freedom Act);

"Head of the Office" means the Head of the Office for

Advertising and the Media established by article 3;

"Office" means the Office for Advertising and the Media.

(2)

Unless the context otherwise requires, words and phrases

used in this order shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in

the EMFA Regulation.

PART II

Office for Advertising and the Media

(1)

There shall be established a body to be known as

the Office for Advertising and the Media, which shall perform such

functions relating to the implementation of the EMFA Regulation as

may be assigned to it in this order or by further order by the Prime

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Minister. The Prime Minister may also by order in the Gazette assign

other functions to the Office related to advertising or to the media.

(2)

The Office shall be a body having a distinct legal

personality from that of the Government and shall be capable, subject

to the provisions of this Order or of any other law from time to time

regulating public entities, to enter into contracts, to hold and dispose of

property of any kind for the purpose of its functions, to sue and be sued

and to enter into all such other transactions as are incidental or

conducive for the proper and independent performance of its functions.

(3)

The legal and judicial representation of the Office shall

vest in the Head of the Office.

(4)

The President acting on the advice of the Prime Minister,

after having consulted with the Leader of the Opposition shall appoint

as Head of the Office a person whose past experience shall include that

of having held an office established by the Constitution.

(5)

The performance of the functions of the Head of the

Office shall be incompatible with the holding of any other public office

or with the performance of any other professional or business activity.

(6)

The Head of the Office shall be appointed for a term of

seven (7) years and shall not be eligible for re-appointment.

(7)

The Head of the Office may only be removed from office

by the Prime Minister, after consultation with the Leader of the

Opposition, before the expiry of his term of appointment for inability to

discharge the functions of his office, whether arising from mental or

physical infirmity or any other cause, or for misbehaviour. Any said

removal shall however be subject to judicial review on points of law

and points of fact before the First Hall of the Civil Court upon an

application to be filed by the person aggrieved within thirty (30)

working days from the removal and the provisions of the Code of

Organization and Civil Procedure applicable to causes heard before the

First Hall of the Civil Court shall apply to proceedings instituted under

this sub-article

Provided that in giving judgment upon such an action the

Court shall, if it considers it to be appropriate in the circumstances, be

entitled to order the payment of compensation instead of annulling the

removal.

(1)

The Head of the Office shall perform his duties

independently and shall not be subject to the direction or control of any

other person or authority in the exercise of his functions.

(2)

The Head of the Office may regulate the functions of the

Office as he deems fit and shall be allocated such resources and may be

assisted by such persons with experience or qualifications in matters

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related to his functions according to a budget as may be agreed with

the Ministry responsible for finance.

(3)

Without prejudice to article 3, the conditions of tenure of

the Head of the Office shall be such terms and conditions as specified

at the time of his appointment to ensure his impartiality and

independence.

(4)

The Office shall every year, by not later than the 1st

April, draw up a report of its workings and finances which shall be

made available to the public and shall be sent to the Minister

responsible for broadcasting and, or audiovisual media who shall lay a

copy thereof on the Table of the House

Provided that the first annual report of the Office may be

published by the 1 April 2027 and shall cover the period from the

commencement of operations of the Office until the 31st December

2026.

Without prejudice to the provisions of the EMFA which

may allow higher administrative penalties or grant further powers, for

the purposes of fulfilling his duties, the Head of the Office shall have

the power to

(a)

require any legal or natural person or entity to

provide relevant information or produce relevant documents

related to any matter provided in the EMFA Regulation or in

any other law or regulations which the Office may from time to

time be authorised to administer or enforce;

(b)

request further information from public

authorities or entities, including detailed information on the

application of criteria and procedures in respect of any matter

regulated or provided for in the EMFA Regulation or in any

other law or regulations which the Office may from time to time

be authorised to administer or enforce;

(c)

subject to the right of a fair hearing, issue

administrative penalties not exceeding two thousand and five

hundred euro (€2,500) against any person who without good

cause fails to comply with a request of the Office to provide any

information which is required by it in terms of this order, in the

case that the Head of the Office considers that the breach is not

of a very serious nature and does not merit criminal

prosecution;

(d)

conduct

investigations,

including

on-site

inspections of relevant records, to ensure compliance with this

order or with any other law or regulations which the Office

may from time to time be authorised to administer or enforce;

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(e)

liaise with other competent authorities or

regulatory bodies or seek the assistance of such authorities or

bodies he may deem necessary for the purpose of the

performance of the functions of the Office.

(1)

Any person who without good cause fails to

comply with any order of the Head of the Office issued in terms of this

order shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction to

a fine (multa) of not less than five hundred euro (€500) and not more

than ten thousand euro (€10,000) and to a fine of fifty euro (€50) for

each day on which the offence persists

Provided that the Head of the Office may also opt to

impose an administrative fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred

euro (€2,500) instead of prosecution.

(2)

Any administrative penalty imposed under this order shall

be subject to appeal before the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) by

application to be filed within twenty (20) days from the date when the

said administrative penalty was served on the person upon whom it was

imposed. The provisions of the Code of Organization and Civil

Procedure regarding the hearing of appeals by the Court of Appeal

(Inferior Jurisdiction) shall apply to the hearing of such apply.

(3)

The provisions of this article and of article 5(c) are

without prejudice to any provisions of the EMFA Regulation which

may provide for higher administrative penalties or other sanctions and

the provisions of this article and of article 5(c) shall only apply where

the provisions of the POLADS Regulation or EMFA providing for

penalties or sanctions do not apply to particular situations.

PART III

Implementation of the EMFA

For the purpose of the effective protection of journalistic

sources and confidential communications, no state authority shall take

measures which

(a)

oblige media service providers or their editorial

staff to disclose information related to or capable of identifying

journalistic sources or confidential communications or oblige

any persons who, because of their regular or professional

relationship with a media service provider or its editorial staff,

may have such information to disclose it;

(b)

detain, sanction, intercept or inspect media service

providers or their editorial staff or subject them or their

corporate or private premises to surveillance or search and

seizure for the purpose of obtaining information related to, or

capable of identifying journalistic sources or confidential

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communications or detain, sanction, intercept or inspect any

persons who, because of their regular or professional

relationship with a media service provider or its editorial staff,

might have such information or subject them or their corporate

or private premises to surveillance or search and seizure for the

purpose of obtaining such information;

(c)

deploy intrusive surveillance software on any

material, digital device, machine or tool used by media service

providers, their editorial staff or any persons who, because of

their regular or professional relationship with a media service

provider or its editorial staff, may have information related to or

capable of identifying journalistic sources or confidential

communications.

(1)

The provisions of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of

article 7 may be derogated subject to the conditions provided in Article

4(4) and (5) respectively of the EMFA.

(2)

Where by way of derogation from the provisions of

paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of article 7, an interception or an

interference is carried out as provided in article 6(2) of the Security

Service Act, the warrant authorising or approving such interception or

interference shall, after being obtained in accordance with the Security

Service Act be immediately reviewed by the person holding the office of

Commissioner in accordance with article 12 of the Security Service Act

and the said warrant shall not be executed and shall have no effect if in

the said review the Commissioner finds a lack of a sufficient legal and

factual basis to reasonably justify the execution thereof.

(3)

The prior authorisation provided for in Article 4(4)(d) of

the EMFA shall be obtained in accordance with the said procedure

provided in sub-article (2) and the provisions of the said sub-article shall

apply mutatis mutandis to the said prior authorisation.

The regular review referred to in Article 4(6) of the

EMFA shall be carried out by the Commissioner who holds office in

accordance with article 12 of the Security Service Act.

The right of media service providers, their editorial staff

or any persons who, because of their regular or professional

relationship with a media service provider or its editorial staff, may

have information related to or capable of identifying journalistic

sources or confidential communications to effective judicial

protection, regarding breaches of Article 4(3) to (7) of the EMFA shall

be enforceable by the First Hall of the Civil Court upon an application

by the injured party and the provisions of the Code of Organization

and Civil Procedure applicable to the trial of causes heard before the

First Hall of the Civil Court, including the power of the Court to order

hearings in camera, shall apply to proceedings instituted under this

article.

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The Chief Executive Officer of the provider of public

service media shall be appointed by means of a competitive process

after an open call to be published at least one (1) month in advance in

which the selection criteria shall be made public.

Decisions for the dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer

or, where in place, the members of the management board of the

provider of public service media before the end of their term of office

shall be subject to judicial review on questions of law and questions of

fact before the First Hall of the Civil Court upon an application by the

injured party to be filed by not later than six (6) months from such

dismissal, and the provisions of the Code of Organization and Civil

Procedure applicable to the trial of causes before the First Hall of the

Civil Court shall apply to proceedings instituted under this article.

The monitoring function provided for in Article 5(4) of

the EMFA shall be carried out by the Broadcasting Authority.

The information to be made easily and directly accessible

to recipients of services of media service providers and to be kept up-

to-date in accordance with Article 6(1) of the EMFA shall in all cases

also be provided to the Media Registrar appointed in accordance with

article 20 of the Media and Defamation Act, who shall together with

the Head of the Office develop a national media ownership database

containing the said information, which shall be made available to the

public by electronic means.

The Broadcasting Authority shall perform the tasks

assigned to national regulatory authorities under Chapter III of the

EMFA and in doing so, it shall not be precluded from taking into

account any opinion issued by the European Board for Media Services

established under the EMFA.

(1)

The Broadcasting Authority shall be entitled to

request the following persons to provide, within a reasonable period of

time, information and data that are proportionate and necessary for

carrying out the tasks provided under Chapter III of the EMFA

(a)

natural persons to whom or the legal persons to

which the said Chapter III of the EMFA applies; and

(b)

any other natural or legal person that, for purposes

related to its trade, business or profession, might reasonably be

in possession of such information and data.

(2)

Any person who fails to comply with a request of the

Broadcasting Authority made in accordance with the provisions of this

order within the time stipulated by the Authority shall be guilty of an

offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine (multa) of not less

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than five hundred euro (€500), but not more than ten thousand euro

(€10,000), and to a fine (multa) of not more than fifty euro (€50) for

each day during which the offence persists.

* The Office and, or such other public entity as the

Minister responsible for broadcasting and, or audiovisual media may

by order from time to time designate, shall be the competent authority

to take or propose appropriate measures to ensure that manufacturers,

developers and importers of devices and user interfaces controlling or

managing access to and the use of media services providing

programmes in Malta comply with the requirements of Article 20 of

the EMFA and for this purpose the said Office or other public entity as

aforesaid may demand the assistance of any other public authority.

(1)

The Broadcasting Authority shall be competent to

take the regulatory or administrative measures provided for in Article

21 of the EMFA.

(2)

When the Broadcasting Authority takes such measures as

provided in sub-article (1), any person who is individually and directly

concerned with such measures shall have a right to appeal the

regulatory or administrative measure before the Court of Appeal

(Inferior Jurisdiction) by means of an application to be filed within

twenty (20) days from the date from which the measure was

communicated to such person. The provisions of the Code of

Organization and Civil Procedure regarding the hearing of appeals by

the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) shall apply to the hearing of

such appeal.

(1)

Public authorities and entities which use public

funds for the purpose of their advertising shall every six (6) months

report to the Office the following details on state advertising contracts

concluded by them with media service providers

(a)

the name of the media service provider or

provider of online platforms contracted;

(b)

the total value of the contract;

(c)

a description of the advertising services provided.

(2)

The Office shall also ensure that public authorities or

entities to which sub-article (1) applies make available to it

information on state advertising expenditure on an annual basis.

(3) The Head of the Office may at any time report to the

Prime Minister on any matter relating to the discharge of the functions

of the Office relating to state advertising under this article.

*Not yet in force.

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(1)

The Office shall monitor and report at the end of

each financial year by not later than the 1st April of the following year

on the allocation of state advertising expenditure to media service

providers and providers of online platforms.

(2)

The said annual report of the Office shall include detailed

data on the allocation of funds for State advertising.

(3)

The report shall be made publicly available in an easily

accessible format which shall also be available through electronic

means.