On 23 September, MDI Executive Director Milica Pešić moderated Taming the Beast: Social Media Platforms – Regulating Content, a panel on the impact of European regulations on Big Tech.
The discussion brought together:
- Ivana Dragicevic, award-winning Croatian journalist and founder of the Europe Future Centre;
- Dr Snježana Milivojević, media expert and member of MDI’s Media Diversity Research Centre Advisory Board;
- Thomas Hughes, CEO of Appeals Centre Europe and former Director of the Meta Oversight Board.
The panel explored the challenges of removing harmful content from major social media platforms, and examined the European Union’s “troika” of digital laws — the Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA), and European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) — highlighting why consistent enforcement matters for citizens, media, and democracy.
Watch the full recording here:
What We Heard: Key Insights from the Panel
Policy challenges
Dr Snježana Milivojević stressed that “regulation is the only thing we and the media have on our side now”. Ivana Dragicevic noted how the core business model of social media has deepened divisions and amplified inequalities.
EMFA — European Media Freedom Act
Milivojević described the new EMFA as “revolutionary”: the first EU-wide media law, overseen by the Commission and a new media board. She emphasised that it goes beyond guaranteeing access to information, requiring mechanisms to ensure pluralism of editorially curated content.
DSA — Digital Services Act
Thomas Hughes pointed to Article 21 of the DSA, which gives anyone in the EU the right to dispute a platform’s decision, whether content was wrongly left online or wrongly taken down. For him, this makes the legislation more than dense legalese: it is a real framework of obligations.
Neurorights & newsroom realities
Dragicevic raised concerns about neurorights, an emerging issue linked to GDPR and fast-moving technological change. She argued that journalism has been undermined by Big Tech’s profit-driven models, including outsourced fact-checking.
Free speech
Hughes warned about the “abuse of free speech”, noting how the principle is often co-opted. He underlined the need for equal application of restrictions and a culture of counter-speech to safeguard expression for all.
About the speakers
Ivana Dragicevic is an award-winning Croatian journalist and recipient of the 2024 Gordana Suša Award and the Europa Award. She is a founder of the Europe Future Centre, alumna of the Reuters Foundation, and member of the selection committee for David Rockefeller Fellows at the Trilateral Commission.
Dr Snježana Milivojević is a media expert and a Member of the MDI’s Media Diversity Research Centre’s Advisory Board. A retired professor of communication, she is the author of the Digital News Report country page on Serbia.
Thomas Hughes is CEO of the Appeals Centre Europe. He is the former Executive Director of Article 19 and former Director of the Meta Oversight Board. The Appeals Centre Europe settles disputes raised by people and organisations in the European Union about content policy enforcement actions taken by online social media platforms.
About the conference
The Breaking Words, Building Bridges conference, hosted by Media Diversity Institute Western Balkans’ Reporting Diversity Network, convened civil society, media, academics and stakeholders to address hateful and harmful speech, information manipulation, and the media representation of diversity in the Western Balkans — with sessions including RDN’s latest media-monitoring findings, panels on EU approaches and best practice, an exhibition on sexist and misogynist hate speech, and an interactive workshop on detecting scapegoating narratives and linguistic tools.
