The CNC suggests adjusting platform regulations in Europe
- The French centre makes recommendations on the quota and the definition of European works, the country of origin rule, data access and intellectual property rights
CNC interim president Olivier Henrard took advantage of the 34th edition of the ARP Film Meetings organised in Touquet by the ARP (Civil Society of Authors-Directors-Producers) to put forward several proposals for the adaptation of norms within the framework of the upcoming European revision of the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).
The initial observation? If the current European legal framework has successfully integrated on-demand media audio-visual services, in particular with obligations of exhibition for European works and of contribution to the financing of national and European works (the AVMSDs having invested €287m in France for audio-visual production and €58,5m for cinema in 2022, compared to €880m and €357m coming from traditional broadcasters), the CNC estimates that changes are nevertheless required. Indeed, foreign VOD platforms exercise tight control over the local productions they finance, thus tending towards cultural standardisation. Moreover, the hoarding of exploitation rights at the expense of the circulation of works is all the more worrying for cultural sovereignty since the sector remains very concentrated around a few big platforms.
The CNC therefore suggests first of all that the quota of European works on platforms be raised from 30% to 50%, in order to align the AVMSDs’ obligations with those of historical broadcasters. Then, since this exhibition quota remains dependent on the country of origin rule, which generates important distortions of competition (platforms targeting France from other European Union member states thus escape the more ambitious quotas put in place by French regulation), the CNC wishes for the introduction of an exception to the country of origin rule.
Third proposition: a tightening of the definition of a European work. Indeed, one of the defining criteria, the geographical perimeter of establishment of the producer, currently allows works produced in Europe by American platforms within the framework of executive productions to qualify as European. The deletion of this criterion is therefore recommended by the CNC.
The CNC also highlights that platforms too often oppose business secrecy to producers asking for access to audience measurements and viewing data, which is strategic information for them. The free communication to producers of pertinent audience data by country, on each of their works, and at least annually, is therefore desirable.
Since the maintenance of intellectual property rights for works on the European territory constitutes a cultural sovereignty issue (namely, to preserve public access to works in all their diversity, to guarantee auteurs’ interests, to ensure the good conservation of works), the CNC invites reflection at the European level about the risks induced by the leakage of intellectual property rights towards extra-European territories, and about ways to respond to them. Considering many catalogues are made up of works that benefited from public funds, the CNC suggests the possibility of making public funds conditional on the maintenance on European soil of technical elements of the works receiving aid.
Finally, given that international tax credit incentives for executive production are more generous (in both rate and ceiling) than the audio-visual tax-credit, the CNC evokes the opportunity of a rebalancing of these tax measures.
(Translated from French)
