Public Service Media in the Crosshairs: National Policymaking Process, the EU Competition Regulation, and the Case of Yle’s Text-Based News Content

Abstract

The role of public service media (PSM) online, and specifically the provision of text-based news content, has been under scrutiny in many European countries. This chapter focuses on the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle) as a case study of the dynamics between European competition law, national PSM policymaking, and lobbying from the private media industry. The chapter examines the process that led to a legal amendment limiting Yle’s text-based services online and its impact on the conditions of public service journalism. As part of a series of complaints about unfair competitive advantage by the private media industry, the Finnish Media Federation, an advocacy organisation for private companies in the media and printing industries, originally filed a complaint with the EU Commission in 2017, claiming that Yle’s text-based online content conflicts with EU state aid rules. The chapter first addresses how competition law has been used to restrict PSM online in other EU member states. It then describes the Finnish case, highlighting the key problems of the amendment accepted by the Finnish Parliament in 2022. Finally, we discuss what the case means more broadly in terms of PSM policy and public service journalism. We argue that the case of Yle exemplifies opaque communication policy decision-making and presents a danger of curbing the scope of PSM through inaccessible and technocratic processes instead of open public debate. The case can also be seen as part of a continuing transition in Finland from the so-called media welfare state to the competition state.