EU and France open consultations on future of audiovisual rules

The European Commission launched a public consultation on 10 February on the review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) with responses due by 1 May.

The French Ministry of Culture has opened a parallel consultation closing on 15 April to shape France's position on the reforms.

This follows an earlier call for evidence that closed on 21 December 2025 and will feed into a broad assessment of the EU’s audiovisual regulatory framework.

The Commission's consultation identifies several areas where changes could be considered:

• Influencer regulation. Whether influencers require a clearer or specific regime, beyond the current rules that apply when they qualify as media service providers.
• Scope and promotion of European works. Possible clarification of scope and a review of the definition of “European works” (for instance, whether to continue including works from non‑EU parties to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, such as the UK).
• Distribution and platform fairness. Whether “general interest” media services are sufficiently prominent on Smart TVs and platforms, and whether to address concerns over restrictive distribution terms and revenue-sharing practices by gatekeeper-type platforms.
• Interplay with the DSA and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). In particular, where there are potential overlaps and tensions: for the DSA, this concerns protection of minors, advertising and commercial communication rules on video‑sharing platforms and content‑moderation obligations; for the UCPD, it raises the question of how far the AVMSD country‑of‑origin rule can displace stricter national advertising and consumer‑protection standards.
• Possible conversion of the AVMSD into a regulation to address the issue of late transposition.

The Commission aims to publish its summary report in the third quarter of 2026.

In parallel, the French Ministry of Culture has launched its own public consultation (open until 15 April 2026) to gather feedback from industry stakeholders and shape the position of French authorities on the matter. The consultation addresses specific questions related to (but not limited to):

• New actors such as content creators (influencers) to assess whether the AVMSD should be adapted to better reflect them.
• Financing and promotion of European works, and whether the rules are still aligned with the goal of cultural diversity.
• Prominence of services of general interest, questioning its scope, how to reinforce the efficiency of the mechanism in place and whether technical harmonisation measures are necessary at an EU level.
• Protection of minors on audiovisual media services and video-sharing platforms, and how to improve protective measures.
• Audiovisual commercial communications, including whether quantitative thresholds are still relevant for TV services.

Why it matters: AVMS providers, especially VSPs, and regulators will have a key window to influence future audiovisual rules, including potential changes on protection of minors and VSPs’ obligations.