This Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved an aid package for the digitalization of the media worth 124.5 million euros. “There are new opportunities and new challenges, which have to do with the emergence of new platforms, new operators, often disseminators of hate and hoaxes, which mean that traditional media have to face this transformation,” explained the minister for Digitalization, Óscar López, who recalled that in 2022 alone, different countries in the European Union have transferred 1.32 billion euros in similar plans. “There could not be state aid if the European Commission had not recognized that there are market failures,” he said.
“The private media market, and in particular, those dedicated to information, currently suffers from a series of market failures that are eroding the fundamental right of citizens to receive truthful information, which is the foundation for the formation of a free and informed public opinion,” López insisted, who considered that “behind this situation there are two main causes, on the one hand, the emergence of digital platforms with global reach, which have attracted publicity from the media communication and, on the other hand, the appearance of digital media with commercial strategies based on ‘clickbait’, with little attachment to the veracity and quality of the information.”
Specifically, they are divided into six programs. The most immediate are a call for 15 million for the strengthening and improvement of cybersecurity capabilities, which will be managed through the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) and two calls for 10 million for artificial intelligence integration projects in large media and for the promotion of spaces for data sharing.
The other three programs consist of a line of loans of 19.5 million for digitalization projects, dissemination of content and adoption of new tools; a package of 65 million for the technological transformation of the printed media which, according to López, “have to make the greatest effort to digitize”; and another call for five million for a digital kit for small media. “In Spain there is a great capillarity of media, with regional and local newspapers. There will also be aid for them,” the minister insisted.
López has pointed out that for this plan, with which the Government hopes to “preserve the competitiveness” of the media and that they can “offer truthful information to citizens”, the ministry has “listened to the sector” and “spoke with representative entities.” “, with an eye on “what is done in other European countries.” Specifically, from this department they point out that “Denmark, Sweden, Austria, France, Italy and Belgium are among the countries that consider public financing of private media as a mechanism to support plurality and democracy.”
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