SEENPM

We, the SEENPM member organisations in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia, express deep concern over last week’s Alpac Capital’s takeover of Adria News Network (ANN). Its portfolio includes N1 in four countries; Nova S, Nova.rs, Danas and Radar in Serbia; and the Vijesti group in Montenegro. These are among the region’s few sizeable, independent, professional and non-nationalist news organisations.

Cross-border reporting is no longer just one of the options in journalism; it is increasingly becoming essential for financial sustainability and investigative reporting, as emphasised at the regional Editors’ Forum bringing together editors and experienced journalists from across the Western Balkans.

A new study maps platform power, regulation, and how news media depend on platforms for reach and visibility in Southeast Europe In today’s media landscape, the most powerful editors are no longer sitting in newsrooms. They are algorithms. From Facebook feeds to TikTok videos, from YouTube recommendations to Google search results, the information we consume is increasingly shaped by systems we cannot see, fully understand, or meaningfully challenge.

Exploring the systemic legislative risks to human rights and the rule of law stemming from digital platforms and digital media regulation in Bosnia and Herzegovina [BiH], the Risk Assessment study pinpoints institutional weakness, media systems fragilities, and policymaking fragmentation, highlighting where immediate attention is needed.

Key systemic risks in Albania’s regulation of digital platforms and media in the digital environment are: non-transparent decision-making processes, high media concentration, and problematic policy approaches to addressing information integrity issues.

In Montenegro, digital regulation, including digital media regulation, is often politicized, while cybersecurity and data protection governance lack transparency and show weak human rights safeguards. Together, these dynamics contribute to regulatory instability rooted in weak institutional capacity and considerations for the rule of law.

Although North Macedonia has made formal progress in digital and media regulation, including the adoption of laws on personal data protection and cybersecurity, politicisation, weak enforcement, and fragmented institutional capacity undermine their effectiveness.

Digital governance and media freedom in Türkiye are under severe and sustained strain, shaped by a long-term shift toward state control over the digital space rather than a human rights-based regulatory framework. Despite its formal EU candidate status, there is no meaningful progress toward alignment with the EU acquis, core instruments such as the Digital Services Act, or international human rights standards.

Media and communications today represent a critical area of modern political struggles. Issues such as editorial policy influence, ownership concentration, information security and surveillance, the quality of information, and the role of media platforms in public discourse have become central points of discussion. Democratic media are not merely channels of communication but prerequisites for democracy. In repressive regimes, independent journalism operates under pressure or disappears entirely.

To address salient forms of pressure against independent media, weakening of democratic governance principles, and violations of human rights, an urgent and systemic response is needed in Serbia. These are key messages of the publication Serbia: Risk Assessment of the Regulation of Digital Platforms and Media in the Digital Environment [in Serbian]by SEENPM, produced within a UNESCO project “Building Trust in Media in South East Europe: Support to Journalism as a Public Good”, financed by the EU.