Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - A European approach to media literacy in the digital environment
Date: 2007-12-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Internet, advertising, communications policy, digital technology, dissemination of information, education, mass media

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 20.12.2007 
COM(2007) 833 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

A European approach to media literacy in the digital environment 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

A European approach to media literacy in the digital environment 

1. 

MEDIA LITERACY IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT 

Media  literacy  is  increasingly  becoming  an  important  component  of  European  and  national 
policy  agendas  in  the  media  and  communication  sectors.  The  new  Audiovisual  Media 
Services Directive (AVMS), for example, sets out a reporting obligation for the Commission 
to measure levels of media literacy in all the Member States1. 

Whereas the media remain key enablers for European citizens to better understand the world 
and participate in democratic and cultural life, media consumption is changing. Mobility, user 
generated communication, Internet and booming availability of digital products are radically 
transforming the media economy. As a consequence, it is crucial to build up better knowledge 
and  understanding  of  how  the  media  work  in  the  digital  world,  who  the  new  players  in  the 
media economy are and which new possibilities, and challenges, digital media consumption 
may  present.  It  largely  conditions  users'  confidence  in  digital  technologies  and  media  and, 
therefore, the take-up of ICT and media, which is a priority for the European Commission, as 
confirmed in its "i2010" strategic policy framework2. More generally, it is also important that 
citizens better understand the economic and cultural dimension of media and that a discussion 
takes place on the importance for Europe's economy to have strong and competitive media at 
a global level, delivering pluralism and cultural diversity. 

A  higher  degree  of  media  literacy  can  significantly  contribute  towards  achieving  the 
objectives  set  for  the  European  Union  at  the  Lisbon  European  Council  in  2000.  It  is 
particularly  important  for  the  establishment of  a  more  competitive  and  inclusive  knowledge 
economy through boosting competitiveness in the ICT and media sectors, for the completion 
of  a  Single  European  Information  Space  and  for  the  fostering  of  inclusion,  better  public 
services and quality of life. 

This  European  approach  to  media  literacy  in the  digital  environment  responds  to  calls  from 
the European Parliament3 and the media and ICT industries. It supplements the ongoing EU 

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Article 26: the Commission shall submit "a report on the application of this Directive and, if necessary, 
make  further  proposals  to  adapt  it  to  developments  in  the  field  of  audiovisual  media  services,  in 
particular in the light of recent technological developments, the competitiveness of the sector and levels 
of media literacy in all Member States". 
See: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/index_en.htm 
For  instance,  in  a  resolution  of  6  September  2005,  on  the  "Television  without  Frontiers  Directive 
(89/552/EEC),  the  European  Parliament  asks  the  Council  and  the  Commission  "to  develop  and  to 
implement media literacy programmes to promote active and aware citizenship in Europe". In a report 
of  22  November  2006  (A6-0399/2006)  on  the  same  subject,  media  literacy  is  referred  to  as  a 
fundamental skill. The European Parliament adopted, on 27 April 2006, a resolution on the transition 
from analogue to digital broadcasting (2005/2212(INI)). At Union level, it "calls on the Commission to 
produce  a  communication  on  media  literacy".  In  the  questions  put  to  Ms  Reding  in  the  European 
Parliament hearings in 2004, several of the themes of this Communication were already present, such as 

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initiative on media pluralism4, the modernisation of the regulatory frameworks for audiovisual 
media  services  and  for  electronic  communications,  the  strategic  initiatives  on  mobile 
television5 and on creative content online and the forthcoming initiative on eInclusion. 

Furthermore,  this  Communication  adds  a  further  building  block  to  European  audiovisual 
policy.  In  particular,  it  links  to  the  provisions  of  the  AVMS  Directive  (the  Communication 
will encourage research into criteria for assessing media literacy which are a first step towards 
the Art. 26 reporting obligation)6 and the MEDIA 2007 programme. The latter underlines the 
importance  of  media  literacy  and  image  education  initiatives  in  order  to  access  European 
audiovisual  works  and  to  enhance  Europe's  cinematographic  and  audiovisual  heritage.  Its 
main  objective  is  to  highlight  and  to  promote  good  practices  in  media  literacy  at  European 
level  and  to  propose  actions.  The  Communication  builds  on  the  results  of  the  work  of  the 
Media Literacy Expert Group (established in 2006), on the findings of the public consultation 
which was launched in October 2006 and on the experience of the Commission's previous and 
current media literacy-related initiatives. 

This  Communication  has  no  financial  impact  on  the  Community  budget  other  than  on  that 
foreseen and set down in the financial framework 2007-2013. 

2. 

A EUROPEAN DEFINITION OF MEDIA LITERACY 

Media  literacy  is  generally  defined  as  the  ability  to  access  the  media,  to  understand  and  to 
critically  evaluate  different  aspects  of  the  media  and  media  contents  and  to  create 
communications  in  a  variety  of  contexts.  This  definition  has  been  validated  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  respondents  to  the  public  consultation  and  by  the  members  of  the  Media 
Literacy Expert Group7. Mass media are the media able to reach a wide public via different 
distribution  channels.  Media  messages  are  informational  and  creative  contents  included  in 
texts, sounds and images carried by different forms  of communication, including  television, 
cinema, video, websites, radio, video games and virtual communities. 

for  media  pluralism 

inclusion  and  accessibility.  In  response  to  a  question  on  the  safety  for  children  on  the  internet,  Ms 
Reding  also  said  that  "media  literacy  or  media  education  programmes"  are  means  of  empowering 
minors and improving their awareness. 
A Three Step approach to Media Pluralism was launched by the European Commission on 16 January 
2007. The first step consisted in a Commission Staff Working Paper, the second is an independent study 
to  define  and  test  concrete  and  objective  indicators  for  assessing  media  pluralism  in  the  EU  Member 
States  (results  expected  by  early  2009)  to  be  followed  by  a  Commission  Communication  on  the 
indicators 
in  2009.  See: 
in 
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/media_taskforce/pluralism/index_en.htm 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Strengthening the Internal Market 
for Mobile TV COM/2007/0409 final. 
Audiovisual  Media  Services  Directive,  recital  37:  ""Media  literacy"  refers  to  skills,  knowledge  and 
understanding that allow consumers to use media effectively and safely. Media-literate people are able 
to exercise informed choices, understand the nature of content and services and take advantage of the 
full range of opportunities offered by new communications technologies. They are better able to protect 
themselves and their families from harmful or offensive material. Therefore the development of media 
literacy  in  all  sections  of  society  should  be  promoted  and  its  progress  followed  closely."  See  also 
footnote 1. 
See: http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/media_literacy/docs/report_on_ml_2007.pdf 

the  EU  Member  States,  due 

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A European approach to media literacy should relate to all media. The various levels of media 
literacy include: 

•  feeling  comfortable  with  all  existing  media  from  newspapers  to  virtual 

communities; 

•  actively  using  media,  through,  inter  alia,  interactive  television,  use  of  Internet 
search  engines  or  participation  in  virtual  communities,  and  better  exploiting  the 
potential  of  media  for  entertainment,  access  to  culture,  intercultural  dialogue, 
learning and daily-life applications (for instance, through libraries, podcasts); 

•  having  a  critical  approach  to  media  as  regards  both  quality  and  accuracy  of 
content (for example, being able to assess information, dealing with advertising on 
various media, using search engines intelligently); 

•  using media creatively, as the evolution of media technologies and the increasing 
presence of the Internet as a distribution channel allow an ever growing number of 
Europeans to create and disseminate images, information and content; 

•  understanding  the  economy  of  media  and  the  difference  between  pluralism  and 

media ownership; 

•  being  aware  of  copyright  issues  which  are  essential  for  a  "culture  of  legality", 
especially  for  the  younger  generation  in  its  double  capacity  of  consumers  and 
producers of content. 

This  Communication  does  not  aim  at  dealing  with  all  of  these  issues,  many  of  them  being 
dealt with under ongoing initiatives, but to concentrate on some of them.  

3. 

INITIATIVES TO DATE 

A Media Literacy Expert Group was set up in 2006 with the aim of analysing and defining 
media  literacy  objectives  and  trends,  of  highlighting  and  promoting  good  practices  at 
European  level  and  of  proposing  actions  in  the  field.  The  analysis  and  assessment  of  the 
European Commission’s previous activity (for instance, media literacy projects funded within 
the eLearning programme) were also discussed and examined. The group was composed of a 
number  of  European  media  literacy  experts.  It  has  a  mix  of  different  competences  and 
backgrounds,  including  academics  and  media  professionals.  It  met  three  times  in  2006  and 
twice in 2007. 

In addition, the Commission launched a public consultation8 in the last quarter of 2006. The 
response  to  the  consultation  was  satisfactory  both  in  quantitative  terms  and  in  terms  of  the 
quality  and  variety  of  the  respondents.  Respondents  included  media  organisations  and 
industry,  formal  and  non-formal  education  institutions,  content  providers  and  producers, 
research and cultural institutions, regulators and citizens' and consumers' associations. From 
the  analysis  of  the  replies,  it  emerged  that  analysing,  highlighting  and  spreading  local  and 
national  good  practices  in  this  field  throughout  the  European  Union  is  the  right  answer  to 

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See  also 
http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/media_literacy/docs/report_on_ml_2007.pdf 

the  "Report  on 

results  on 

the 

the  public  consultation  on  Media  Literacy: 

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speed  up  progress  in  media  literacy.  It  also  emerged  that  criteria  or  standards  for  assessing 
media literacy  are  lacking and  that  good  practices  are  not  available  for  all  aspects  of  media 
literacy.  Accordingly,  the  Commission  sees  an  urgent  need  for  larger-scale,  longer-term 
research into developing both new assessment criteria and new good practices. 

A study on "Current trends and approaches to media literacy in Europe" was commissioned 
in  May  2006.  It  maps  current  practices  in  implementing  media  literacy  in  Europe,  confirms 
the tendencies which emerged in the public consultation and recommends some measures to 
be implemented at Community level to help foster and to increase the level of media literacy. 
Finally, it briefly outlined the possible economic and social impact of an EU intervention in 
this field. The final report of the study is available on the European Commission's website9. 

The  MEDIA  2007  programme  Decision10  highlights  the  importance  of  media  literacy  and 
film  education  initiatives,  in  particular  those  organised  by  festivals  for  young  audiences  in 
cooperation with schools. A call for proposals, with a specific award criterion related to film 
education, was launched in early 2007 and a number of projects selected11. 

The  SAFER  INTERNET  PLUS  programme  (2004-2008)  aims  at  empowering  parents, 
teachers and children with Internet safety tools. It also covers other media, such as videos. In 
the context of this programme, a qualitative study12 was conducted in May 2007, based on a 
Eurobarometer  survey  and  aimed  at  improving  knowledge  about  Internet  and  mobile  phone 
usage  by  children,  their  on-line  behaviour  and  their  perceptions  of  risk-  and  safety-related 
questions. 

The  EU  legal  framework  related  to  content  also  deals  with  media  literacy.  For  instance,  a 
Recommendation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  protection  of 
minors  and  human  dignity  and  the  right  of  reply  in  relation  to  the  competitiveness  of  the 
European audiovisual and information services industry was adopted on 20 December 200613. 
It stresses the importance of the development of media literacy programmes by the Member 
States and recommends  a series  of  concrete actions to be  undertaken  by  the Member States 
and the Commission in that field. Examples of such actions are: encouraging the audiovisual 
and on-line information services industry to avoid and to combat all discrimination based on 
sex,  racial  or  ethnic  origin,  religion  or  belief,  disability,  age  or  sexual  orientation,  without 
infringing freedom of expression or of the press; establishing codes of conduct in cooperation 
with  professionals  and  regulatory  authorities  at  national  and  Community  level;  promoting 
measures to combat all illegal activities harmful to minors on the Internet. The Commission 
would  also  draw  attention  to  the  fact  that  all  Member  States,  except  one,  and  the  European 
Community signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Article 21 
describes  the  obligations  to  encourage  the  mass  media,  including  providers  of  information 
through the internet, to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities. 

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See: http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/media_literacy/index_en.htm 
Decision No 1718/2006/EC. 
Examples  are:  Thessaloniki  Film  Festival  (Greece),  Festival  Premiers  Plans  (Anger,  France),  Festival 
Européen du Film Court de Brest (France), Festival Internacional de cine para jóvenes (Gijón, Spain), 
International Short Film Festival (Berlin, Deutschland), Crossing Europe Film Festival (Linz, Austria) 
and the 20th European Youth Film Festival of Flanders (Belgium). 
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/eurobarometer/index_en.htm#overall_report 
Recommendation No 2006/952/EC. 

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In line with the subsidiarity principle, the national authorities have the primary responsibility 
for  including  media  literacy  in  school  curricula  at  all  levels.  The  role  played  by  local 
authorities is also very important, since they are closer to the citizens and support initiatives in 
the non-formal education sector. The recently approved text of the AVMS Directive contains 
a recital referring to media literacy14, and its Article 26 sets out a reporting obligation for the 
Commission to measure levels of media literacy in all the Member States. 

In May 2007, media literacy was the subject of a session at the German Presidency Leipzig 
Seminar, "More trust in content". In June 2007, at a conference on media literacy organised 
by  UNESCO,  the  need  to  strengthen  international  cooperation  was  jointly  stressed  by 
UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the Commission. 

4. 

MEDIA LITERACY IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT - GOOD PRACTICES 

This Communication focuses on three areas: commercial communication, audiovisual works 
and online. 

4.1.  Media literacy for commercial communication  

Advertising is part of everyday life and is one of the building blocks of a market economy. It 
is  important  to  raise  awareness  among  all  audiences  about  the  role  of  commercial 
communication in the value chain of the audiovisual industry. This is notably true for free-to-
air  television  as  advertising  and  other  forms  of  commercial  communication,  such  as 
sponsoring,  teleshopping  or  product  placement,  enable  broadcasters  to  acquire  premium 
content.  It  is  also  important  to  avoid  negative  images  of  older  persons  and  people  with 
disabilities  in  the  media.  In  this  field,  media  literacy  for  commercial  communication  has  at 
least three aspects: 

•  giving  young  audiences  tools  to  develop  a  critical  approach  to  commercial 

communication, enabling them to make informed choices15; 

•  raising awareness and knowledge among all interested parties about self- and co-
the  development  and 

regulatory  measures  and  mechanisms  and  about 
implementation of codes of conduct16; 

•  encouraging public/private financing in this area with adequate transparency17. 

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See footnote 6. 
For  example,  Mediakompassi,  a  media  literacy  site  developed  by  the  Finnish  Broadcasting  Company 
YLE's,  has  a  section  focusing  on  advertising  for  youth,  parents  and  teachers  alike;  the  Swedish 
Consumer Agency has produced several books and co-financed educational material about commercials 
in television. 
For example, the Consell Audiovisual de Catalunya (CAC) promotes platforms of dialogue to establish 
codes of self- and co-regulation. 
For example, Media Smart is a non-profit media literacy programme for school children aged 6 to 11 
years old, focused on advertising. The initiative was launched in the UK in November 2002 and is now 
operating in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Finland and Sweden. It is also being developed in 
Italy, Portugal and Hungary. It is funded by the advertising business in the UK and is supported by the 
UK and other Member States governments. 

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In  view  of  the  reporting  obligation  in  the  AVMS  Directive,  the  Commission  sees  a  strong 
need to develop and to exchange good practices on commercial communications (e.g. through 
input to the development of codes of conduct) with a view to proposing them as an alternative 
to restrictions or bans on certain practices. 

4.2.  Media Literacy for audiovisual works 

Digital  technologies  and  broadband  penetration  strongly  facilitate  access  to  audiovisual 
works,  creating  new  distribution  channels  such  as  video-on-demand  and  mobile  television. 
This  in  turn  creates  new  markets  for  catalogue/heritage  content.  In  addition,  digital 
technologies lower the entry barrier for creating and distributing audiovisual works and help 
create an audiovisual market without borders. In this context media literacy means: 

•  providing, notably to young European audiences, better awareness and knowledge 
about  our  film  heritage  and  increasing  interest  in  these  films  and  in  recent 
European films18; 

•  promoting the acquisition of audiovisual media production and creativity skills19; 

•  understanding  the  importance  of  copyright,  from  the  perspective  of  both 

consumers and creators of content20. 

4.3.  Media literacy for online 

In the rapidly evolving information society, media literacy skills are needed for awareness and 
inclusion in relation to technological, economic and cultural innovations. Internet profoundly 
changes media consumption, as it is an additional means to access traditional media (IPTV or 
Internet  Radio  for  instance)  and  texts,  images  and  sounds  from  all  over  the  world  in  an 
interactive  way.  This  offers  huge  opportunities,  for  example,  as  regards  multimedia  digital 
libraries21  but  also  huge  challenges  in  terms  of  media  literacy.  Media  literacy  for  online 
means: 

•  empowering users with tools to critically assess online content; 

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An example is Europa Cinemas, created in 1992 thanks to the financing from the MEDIA Programme 
of the European Union and of the Centre National de la Cinématographie. Europa Cinemas has become 
the  first  cinema  theatre  network  with  a  mainly  European  programming  and,  it  organises,  inter  alia, 
promotional activities concerning European films for young audiences. 
An  example  is  Community  Media  Network  (Ireland)  promotes  community  development  and 
empowerment, using video, radio, photography, print and Internet as resource tools. www.cmn.ie. Also, 
FILM-X  is  the  Danish  Film  Institute's  computer-based,  interactive  film  studio  for  children  and 
adolescents.  It  gives  children,  young people  and  adults  a  chance  to  experience  film  production  and  it 
helps them to learn different ways to communicate through film. http://www.dfi.dk/filmx 
The BBC offers users a very wide range of opportunities for interactive engagement, including online 
message  boards,  comment  fora,  blogs  and  audio  and  video  contributions.  The  BBC  also  recently 
completed a pilot of the Creative Archive which has generated a significant level of engagement from 
licence  fee  payers  with  nearly  100,000  regular  users.  The  Creative  Archive  pilot  enabled  people  to 
download,  re-edit,  use  and  share  appropriately  cleared  content  clips  for  their  own,  non-commercial 
creative purposes within the terms of the Creative Archive Licence Scheme. 
The  Digital  Libraries  Initiative  is  a  project  under  the  framework  of  i2010,  the  Commission's  overall 
strategy to boost the digital economy. Digital libraries are organised collections of digital content made 
available to the public. The three main strands of the initiative are online accessibility, digitisation and 
preservation and storage. 

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•  extending  digital  creativity  and  production  skills  and  encouraging  awareness  of 

copyright issues22; 

•  ensuring that the benefits of the information society can be enjoyed by everyone, 
including  people  who  are  disadvantaged  due  to  limited  resources  or  education, 
age,  gender,  ethnicity,  people  with  disabilities  (e-Accessibility)  as  well  as  those 
living in less favoured areas (all these are encompassed under eInclusion)23; 

•  raising awareness about how search engines work (prioritisation of answers, etc.) 

and learning to better use search engines24. 

5. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The Commission will continue to promote the development and exchange of good practices 
on  media  literacy  in  the  digital  environment through existing programmes  and  initiatives. It 
will  also  encourage  research  into  criteria  for  assessing  media  literacy.  To  achieve  this,  a 
specific study will be launched in 2008 with the aim of investigating criteria to assess media 
literacy levels. This study will feed into the report foreseen in the AVMS Directive, which the 
Commission will table at the latest four years after the adoption of the Directive. 

For  the  above  reasons,  the  Commission  calls  on  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions to support the objectives 
and  priorities  set  out  in  this  Communication  and  to  organise  in  2008  events  devoted  to  the 
exchange  of  good  practices  on  media  literacy  in  the  digital  environment,  including  on  the 
economy of the media sector in Europe. Having regard to the position expressed by the other 
institutions  and  to  the  reactions  of  the  stakeholders  to  the  current  Communication,  the 
if  necessary  a 
Commission  will  highlight  further 
Recommendation. Also, bearing in mind that 2008 will be the European Year of Intercultural 
Dialogue,  the  Commission  invites  the  European  institutions  to  incorporate  an  intercultural 
dialogue concern in their media literacy activities. 

these  good  practices,  adopting 

The Commission calls on Member States to: 

•  encourage the authorities in charge of audiovisual and electronic communication 
regulation  to  get  more  involved  and  to  cooperate  in  the  improvement  of  the 
various levels of media literacy defined above; 

•  promote systematic research into and regular observation of and reporting on the 

different aspects and dimensions of media literacy; 

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An example is http://www.internet-abc.de/kinder/ which enables children to familiarize themselves with 
internet and with creation and production of on-line content. 
The  third  priority  of  i2010  is  to  promote,  with  the  tools  available  to  the  Commission,  an  inclusive 
European Information Society, supported by efficient and user-friendly ICT-enabled public services.  
See: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/einclusion/index_en.htm and  
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/inclusion/index_en.htm 
See for instance this search engine for children: http://www.blinde-kuh.de/ 

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•  develop  and  implement  codes  of  conduct  and,  as  appropriate,  co-regulatory 
frameworks  in  conjunction  with  all  interested  parties  at  national  level,  and 
promote self-regulatory initiatives. 

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