The 75th General Assembly of the EBU has once again solemnly called the EU Institutions to modify the draft Trade Secrets Directive in order to avoid seriously harming freedom of expression and the right to information. 

Problematic wording in the proposed draft of the Directive would impair investigative journalism and undermine the public's right to know. Though the EBU, as well as several other media organisations, have sounded the alarm on several occasions over the past months, the ambiguous terminology, requiring journalists to make 'legitimate use' of the right to freedom of expression, has still not been adequately addressed by the EU Institutions.

The full text of the EBU Declaration is available below or to download.

Declaration of the 75th EBU General Assembly: Trade Secrets Directive must not impair
the public's right to know

We, Public Service Broadcasters of Europe, wish to reiterate our deep concern regarding the current formulation of draft EU legislation on Trade Secrets.

The draft Directive, which is intended to prevent industrial espionage and unfair competition, currently includes unclear and arbitrary provisions which would undermine the ability of journalists and media companies to pursue free and investigative journalism.

The general public relies on investigative journalism to inform and give evidence about irregularities. The possibility to access, scrutinize and unveil information of public interest which has not been disclosed to the public is an intrinsic part of journalistic activities. 

We cannot accept that corporate interests prevail over the public’s right to know. In order to safeguard free and critical journalism, we resolutely call on the EU Institutions to include a clear and solid exception in the EU Trade Secrets Directive for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information.