The lead Education and Culture (CULT) committee of the European Parliament has adopted its report on the European Commission’s proposal to update the Audiovisual Media Service (AVMS) Directive. This flash message provides a full account of the main amendments compared to the Commission’s proposal of May 2016.

The report strengthens quantitative advertising limit for linear services proposed by the Commission, reintroduces the undue prominence prohibition for product placement and extends qualitative standards and sponsorship rules (currently applying to audiovisual media services) to commercial communications that are “marketed, sold, or arranged” by video-sharing platforms.

The report clarifies that measures imposed on video-sharing platforms by member states “should not lead to ex-ante control or filtering of content” but removes the explicit prohibition for member states to impose stricter measures than the listed ones (member states should still choose among those measures, “as appropriate”).

The report sets a 30% quota for European works in on-demand services and clarifies that financial contributions that member states can impose on non-national on-demand providers should be based on their "on-demand revenues" only (in the targeted country). Accessibility provisions are also reintroduced and strengthened.

The vote took place on April 25, 2017 and covered a total of 1400 amendments and compromise amendments, both agreed with the opinion-giving committees involved as well as separate amendments tabled by committee members. Most of the compromise amendments agreed between the political groups were adopted.