Albania, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia & Turkey in the Year 2020

MONITORING MEDIA PLURALISM IN THE DIGITAL ERA APPLICATION OF THE MEDIA PLURALISM MONITOR IN THE EUROPEAN UNION, ALBANIA, MONTENEGRO, THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA, SERBIA & TURKEY IN THE YEAR 2020

Country report: Albania

Kristina Voko, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Albania Besar Likmeta, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Albania

Research Project Report Issue 2021.2839 July 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. About the project 4 1.1. Overview of the project 4 1.2. Methodological note 4

2. Introduction 6

3. Results from the data collection: assessment of the risks to media 8 pluralism 3.1. Fundamental protection (59% - medium risk) 9 3.2. Market plurality (89% - high risk) 10 3.3. Political independence (64% - medium risk) 12 3.4. Social inclusiveness (72% - high risk) 14

4. Pluralism in the online environment: assessment of the risks 17

5. Conclusions 20

6. Notes 21

7. References 22

Annexe I. Country Team Annexe II. Group of Experts © European University Institute 2021 Content and individual chapters © Kristina Voko, Besar Likmeta, 2021

This work has been published by the European University Institute, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. This text may be downloaded only for personal research purposes. Additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copies or electronically, requires the consent of the authors. If cited or quoted, reference should be made to the full name of the author(s), editor(s), the title, the year and the publisher.

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Views expressed in this publication reflect the opinion of individual authors and not those of the European University Institute.

Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies

Research Project Report RSC / Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom 2021.2839 Published in July 2021

European University Institute Badia Fiesolana I – 50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) https://cadmus.eui.eu/

The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union. This publication reflects the views only of the author(s), and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

3 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union 1. About the project

1.1. Overview of the Project The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a research tool designed to identify potential risks to media pluralism in the Member States of the European Union and in candidate countries. This narrative report has been produced on the basis of the implementation of the MPM carried out in 2020. The implementation was conducted in 27 EU Member States, as well as in Albania, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. This project, under a preparatory action of the European Parliament, was supported by a grant awarded by the European Commission to the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) at the European University Institute.

1.2. Methodological note

Authorship and review

The CMPF partners with experienced, independent national researchers to carry out the data collection and author the narrative reports, except in the case of Italy where data collection is carried out centrally by the CMPF team. The research is based on a standardised questionnaire developed by the CMPF. InAlbania the CMPF partnered withKristina Voko and Besar Likmeta (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Albania),who conducted the data collection, scored and commented on the variables in the questionnaire and interviewed experts. The report was reviewed by the CMPF staff. Moreover, to ensure accurate and reliable findings, a group of national experts in each country reviewed the answers to particularly evaluative questions (see Annexe II for the list of experts). For a list of selected countries, the final country report was peer-reviewed by an independent country expert. Risks to media pluralism are examined in four main thematic areas: Fundamental Protection, Market Plurality, Political Independence and Social Inclusiveness. The results are based on the assessment of a number of indicators for each thematic area (see Table 1).

Fundamental Protection Market Plurality Political Independence Social Inclusiveness Protection of freedom of Transparency of media Political independence of Access to media for expression ownership media minorities Protection of right to News media Editorial autonomy Access to media for information concentration local/regional communities and for community media Journalistic profession, Online platforms Audiovisual media, online Access to media for standards and protection concentration and platforms and elections women competition enforcement Independence and Media viability State regulation of Media Literacy effectiveness of the media resources and support to authority media sector Universal reach of Commercial & owner Independence of PSM Protection against illegal traditional media and influence over editorial governance and funding and harmful speech access to the Internet content Table 1: Areas and Indicators of the Media Pluralism Monitor

4 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union The digital dimension

The Monitor does not consider the digital dimension to be an isolated area but rather as intertwined with traditional media and existing principles of media pluralism and freedom of expression. Nevertheless, the Monitor also extracts digital-specific risk scores and the report contains a specific analysis of risks related to the digital news environment.

The calculation of risk

The results for each thematic area and indicator are presented on a scale from 0 to 100%. Scores between 0 and 33%: low risk Scores between 34 to 66%: medium risk Scores between 67 and 100%: high risk With regard to indicators, scores of 0 are rated 3% while scores of 100 are rated 97% by default, to avoid an assessment of total absence or certainty of risk.

Disclaimer: The content of the report does not necessarily reflect the views of the CMPF, nor the position of the members composing the Group of Experts. It represents the views of the national country team that carried out the data collection and authored the report. Due to updates and refinements in the questionnaire, MPM2021 scores may not be fully comparable with previous editions of the MPM. For more details regarding the project, see the CMPF report on MPM2021, soon available on: http://cmpf.eui.eu/media-pluralism-monitor/.

5 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union 2. Introduction

Population:The Republic of Albania is a country of 2.8 million inhabitants, with a geographic area of 28.748 square kilometers located in the Western Balkans along the coast of the Adriatic and Ionian Sea, bordering Montenegro and Kosovo to the north, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south.

Minorities: The majority of the population is ethnic Albanian and according to the 2011 census only 1.5 percent of its inhabitants come from ethnic minorities (INSTAT, 2012). The 2011 census data remain controversial because only 83.2 per cent of the respondents declared themselves ethnic Albanians, while 14.07 percent refused to answer questions on the basis of nationality. A new census planned for 2020 was postponed to 2022. In 2020, the census could not be held because of the COVID-19 pandemic, while in 2021 because it was an electoral year. According to the Law no. 96/2017 "For the [1] Protection of National Minorities in the Republic of Albania" , recognized ethnic and/or cultural minorities in Albania include: Greeks, Macedonians, Aromanians, Roma, Egyptians, Montenegrins, Bosnian, Serbs and Bulgarians. The largest national minority in Albania is the Greek minority, which is concentrated mainly in the country’s south, close to the border with Greece, followed by the ethnic Macedonian minority and the Roma cultural minority.

Economic situation: In 2020 Albania’s economy registered a recession, with a drop of 9% in the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, due to the disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic in sectors like tourism and trade. According to the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the export of services fell 35% year-on-year in the period January – June 2020, the export of goods fell 17% year-on- year in the period January – July and remittances fell by 18.5% in the period January-June 2020 (EBRD, 2020).

Political situation: The political environment in Albania in 2020, was marked by polarization, after opposition MPs forfeited their parliamentary mandates and opposition parties boycotted local elections in 2019, amidst allegation of ties between government and organized crime. A parliamentary commission controlled by the ruling Socialist Party initiated an impeachment procedure against the President, which was finalized in late July 2020. The ad hoc inquiry committee concluded that while the President had overstepped his constitutional competences, the violations did not justify his impeachment. Despite the fraught political climate, a political council was set up under the mediation of the US and EU and managed to stir political actors toward a consensual reform of the electoral code, ahead of the 2021 parliamentary elections (European Commission, 2020).

Media market: Albania has a crowded media market, with dozens of broadcasters and newspapers and hundreds of news portals vying for market share. However, based on Media Ownership Monitor data, the number of media outlets does not reflect an effective plurality as most revenues and audience share are controlled by a handful of owners (RSF & BIRN Albania, 2018). According to an opinion survey in October 2020, Albanians consume information by using multiple media outlets. Survey data show that the overwhelming majority continues to get informed on important political developments via commercial broadcasters, followed by social networks (European Fund for the Balkans, 2020).

Regulatory environment: Albania’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the media. The audiovisual media is regulated by the Law no. 97/2013 "For Audio-visual Media in the [2] [3] Republic of Albania" , while Law no. 7756 dated 1993 "On the Press" as amended, has only one

6 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union article, the press is free and its freedom is protected by law. In December 2019, parliament passed a series of amendments to the Law on Audio and Audio-visual Media Services, expanding its scope to regulate online media outlets. However, the amendments were vetoed by the President as unconstitutional. These amendments were opposed by journalists and criticized by the Venice Commission as having a chilling effect on media freedom (Albanian Helsinki Committee, 2020a).

COVID-19: In 2020, 57,000 people in Albania were infected with COVID-19 and 1170 patients lost their lives due to the virus or health complications from COVID-19. In the period March-April 2020, the country went into lockdown to slow the spread of the pandemic, while for the rest of the year social distancing rules remained in place (AKSHI, 2020).

7 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union 3. Results from the data collection: assessment of the risks to media pluralism

Albania scores medium risk (59%) for the area of Fundamental Protection in 2020. Although Albania’s legal framework guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the media, in practice, these freedoms are restricted by the political and economic interests of media owners, the concentration of market share and audience share in the hands of few powerful family-owned media conglomerates, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) against critical journalists, poor implementation of labour rights legislation and widespread self-censorship. According to the latest World Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders, 2021), Albania ranks 83th out of 180 countries, gaining one position compared with the previous year. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) notes that Albania’s government stepped up efforts in 2020 to pass a defamation law for online media, which was blocked by a presidential veto and faced criticism by the Venice Commission for having a chilling effect on media and journalists. Journalists faced harassment and were illegally detained while covering demonstrations, while verbal attacks from the highest echelons of power and SLAPPs from businessmen and state officials continued. Amidst the risk of government regulation and the threat of draconian administrative fines, a number of online media outlets joined forced to create a self-regulatory mechanism, recognising a need to improve professional standards (Reporters Without Borders, 2021).

When it comes to market plurality the Albanian media scene is considered as high risk (89%), due to the lack of transparency of media ownership, high market concentration among legacy media outlets, lack of data on the concentration of online platforms, as well as a downfall of advertising revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the influence of the economic and political interests of media owners over the editorial policy and appointment of editors in chief of media outlets is a widespread phenomenon. Poor enforcement of labor contracts, job and physical insecurity, as well as lack of implementation of the Journalist’s Ethics Code are among the main reasons leading editors and journalists toward self-censorship.

In the area of political independence, the Albanian media scores medium risk (64%), due to the lack of regulatory safeguards to prevent conflicts of interests, the undue influence of politicians on audiovisual

8 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union media, newspapers and leading digital native media; as well as a lack of editorial autonomy and widespread self-censorship. For digital media this area is assessed as high risk (97%) due to the influence of political parties, lack of guidelines on the use of social media, as well as a lack of regulation to ensure transparency of online advertisement from political parties and candidates during the electoral campaign.

Albania also scores high risk for Social Inclusiveness (72%), due to the poor level of media literacy, especially regarding digital skills, as well as the lack of effective safeguards against illegal and harmful speech, both in legacy media and digital space. Media in Albania lack gender equality policies and female experts are underrepresented in broadcast, print and digital media. Also, ethnic and cultural minorities, as well as people with disabilities have little access to Albanian media, including public service channels.

3.1. Fundamental Protection (59% - medium risk) The Fundamental Protection indicators represent the regulatory backbone of the media sector in every contemporary democracy. They measure a number of potential areas of risk, including the existence and effectiveness of the implementation of regulatory safeguards for freedom of expression and the right to information; the status of journalists in each country, including their protection and ability to work; the independence and effectiveness of the national regulatory bodies that have competence to regulate the media sector, and the reach of traditional media and access to the Internet.

Albania scored medium risk in the indicator offreedom of expression (60%). The country’s legal framework guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the media, in the Constitution and national laws and through the ratification of international conventions related to freedom of expression and human rights with no significant reservations. Restriction of freedom of expression are clearly defined in the Law no. 97/2013 on Audio-visual Media; however, legal remedies in cases of infringement are not always effective. Although there is a solid regulatory framework in place, in practice systematic violations are reported. According to the Media Freedom Rapid Response Database, compiled by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and International Press Institute (IPI), with support from European Center of Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), nine alerts of violations of media freedom were registered in 2020 in Albania (MFRR, 2020). Defamation in Albania is still a criminal misdemeanor, punished by a fine. Although the law provides for sufficient legal defense, in practice the damages awarded by Albanian judges in civil

9 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union defamation trials are often not proportionate (BIRN Albania, 2020b).

The indicator of the right to information in Albania scored media risk in 2020 (58%). The right to [4] information is recognised in the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and is regulated by Law no. [5] 119/2014 on the Right to Information . Although most restrictions to the ‘right to information’ are defined in law, there are not clear provisions for all the aspects that are restricted, especially on those related to the access to information of law enforcement and judicial institutions. Denials to access information can be appealed in the Commissioner for the Freedom of Information and Protection of Personal Data, and later on in the Administrative Court, but these mechanisms are time-consuming and not always effective and were severely disrupted by the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Res Publica, 2020).

The indicator on thejournalistic profession, standards and protection acquired a score of 70% and is rated as high risk. This is due to the fact that Albanian journalistic associations are only partially effective in guaranteeing editorial independence and professional standards. However, on a positive note, they organised an effective advocacy campaign against the so-called anti-defamation package, which aimed to regulate online media through an administrative body. Albanian journalists lack job security. A high number of media employees don't have working contracts, or their working contracts do not reflect the real salary, while many journalists don't receive their salaries in time or are dismissed without respecting the procedures of the Labour Code (Albanian Helsinki Committee, 2020b). Reports from NGOs during the COVID-19 emergency have shown that many journalists have lost their jobs or have not been paid during the lockdown period, as a result of restrictions posed on the number of journalists and panellists in TV studios and the fact that all newspapers stopped printing for more than four weeks. After the first pandemic wave, the daily newspapers started the printing, but only with a limited number of copies while registering a significant decrease in advertising revenue (Bogdani, A., 2020).

The indicator on the independence and effectiveness of the media authority acquired a score of 40% and is rated as a medium risk because the Albanian Audiovisual Media Authority, AMA, is not perceived as a credible independent regulatory body. Although the law lays down a comprehensive regulatory framework aimed at guaranteeing, in principle, the independence of its members from political and commercial interference nevertheless, they are not immune to political interference, as only a simple parliamentary majority is required for their appointment. According to an opinion of the Venice Commission in 2020 - on proposed changes to Law no. 97/2013 on Audio-visual Media in Albania, it is stated that AMA is not perceived as independent, and all its members are politically affiliated (Venice Commission, 2020).

The indicator on the universal reach of traditional media and access to the internetacquired a score of [6] 69% and is rated as high risk. According to the Law no. 97/2013 on Audio-visual Media , the public service media (PSM) should cover at least 90 per cent of the territory and 90 per cent of the population through its signal, while at least one of the channels should cover 99% of the population. According to the 2019 annual report of the PSM to parliament, their first channel RTSH covers 97% of the population with its two digital frequencies (RTSH, 2020).

3.2. Market Plurality (89% - high risk) The Market Plurality area focuses on the economic risks to media pluralism, deriving from lack of transparency and concentration of ownership, sustainability of the media industry, exposure of journalism to commercial interests. The first indicator examines the existence and effectiveness of provisions on transparency of media ownership. Lack of competition and external pluralism is assessed separately for the news media (production of the news) and for the online platforms (gateways to the news), considering

10 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union separately horizontal and cross-media concentration; the concentration of online advertising market; and the role of competition enforcement. The indicator on media viability measures the trend of revenues and employment, in relation with GDP trends. The last indicator aims to assess risks to market plurality posed by business interests on production of editorial content, both from commercial and owners influence

The indicator oftransparency of media ownership acquires a score of 81%, registering a higher risk than the previous year due to the increased importance that the MPM 2021 methodology assigns to the digital [7] media situation. Although the Law 97/2013 requires some degree of transparency for audiovisual media, the provisions are scarcely effective. Furthermore, the lack of legal provisions for the other media sectors and the absolute lack of disclosure of ultimate ownership contribute to the high level of risk in this indicator (RSF & BIRN Albania, 2018).

The indicator of news media concentration acquires a score of 89% and is rated as high risk due to the lack of regulation of ownership and market share concentration for print and online media. By the other hand, the audio-visual media law does contain some limitations of ownership only if an individual owns more than one media company. The audio-visual media law also provides for a restriction of a commercial nature, which concerns the prohibition of occupying a share of more than 30% of the advertising market by a company that holds a national audio or audio-visual broadcasting license. The Audio Visual Media Authority oversees the implementation of the law on media by entities operating in the audio-visual field and in case of violation, takes administrative measures and imposes sanctions. Still, there is a high level of concentration in the Albanian media market, which shows that such measures are not effective (RSF & BIRN Albania, 2018).

The indicator on online platforms concentration and competition enforcementacquires a score of 92% and is rated as high risk. Data on online platforms concentration, both in terms of ownership and advertisement market, are missing. Albania has not introduced or scheduled any form of taxation for digital services and online media operate on the same financial rules and tax regime as other businesses registered in the country. No specific tax or financial rules, subsidies, or incentives are designed specifically for online media outlets, differently from audio-visual and print media, which enjoy lower tax rates (BIRN Albania, 2020a).

11 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union

The indicator ofmedia viability acquires a score of 94% and is rated high risk. This due to the fact that profits decreased by 922,000 euros in the audiovisual sector in 2019. The market was in a downward trend since the last trimester of 2019, due to the deadly earthquake that hit Central Albania in November 26, 2019. Although there is no available data for the market in 2020, reports suggest that main television stations registered a drop of advertising revenue of more than 20 percent due to the lockdown imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some television stations had to undertake painful pay cuts of salaries (Bogdani, A., 2020). Due to the lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, newspapers stopped publication form March 12th until April 20th, 2020, which affected their revenue and market share compared to other media. There are not data on how radio outlets were affected by the crises. According to the Albanian Union of Journalists in 2019, there were 6200 media professionals active in Albania, including 2763 journalists. Media reports from the first trimester of 2020, suggest that some media outlets laid off up to 30 employees because of the shortfall of revenue due to COVID-19 (Ruci, A., 2020).

The indicator of commercial & owner influence over editorial contentacquires a score of 91% and is rated as high risk. In Albania there are no mechanisms granting social protection to journalists in case of changes of ownership or editorial line and there are no regulatory or self-regulatory safeguards, which seek to ensure that decisions regarding appointment and dismissals of editors in chief are not influenced by commercial interests (Albanian Helsinki Committee, 2020b). Article 5, of the Code of Ethic of the Albanian media, stipulates that the media should avoid any conflict of interests due to financial interests; however, few media outlets respect and endorse the code of ethics. The code also stipulates that editorial content should be clearly distinguished from advertising; however, the code is not endorsed by most media outlets (Albanian Media Institute, 2018a).

3.3. Political Independence (64% - medium risk) The Political Independence indicators assess the existence and effectiveness of regulatory and self- regulatory safeguards against political bias and political influences over news production, distribution and access. More specifically, the area seeks to evaluate the influence of the State and, more generally, of political power over the functioning of the media market and the independence of public service media. Furthermore, the area is concerned with the existence and effectiveness of (self)regulation in ensuring editorial independence and availability of plural political information and viewpoints, in particular during electoral periods.

12 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union The indicator of political independence of mediaacquires a score of 79% and is rated as high risk. In Albania there are some regulatory safeguards to regulate the conflict of interests between owners of media and the ruling parties, partisan groups or politicians, but they are both inadequate and are not implemented effectively. These provisions related mostly to the members of the boards of the Audiovisual Media Authority [8] and PSM (Law 97/2013 ). There are no specific provisions that prohibit politicians and political parties from owning media. In the old law on audiovisual services, there were few provisions on prohibiting elected and high officials from applying for a license, but such provisions were not included in the revised law. Also, most media are owned and run by people with strong political affiliations. Although there is no known case of direct ownership of audiovisual media by politicians or their family members, political control is maintained through affiliated business interests of the media owners in sectors with high state regulation, such as construction, mining and natural resources in general, or products with excise duties such as coffee (RSF & BIRN Albania, 2018).

The indicator ofeditorial autonomy acquires a score of 88% and is rated as high risk. This is due to the fact that the appointments and dismissals of editors-in-chief are not independent from political influence. The Ethics Code stipulates independence from political interference, but it is not adopted for most of the media and is not effectively implemented. Based on the available data, only two media in the country have codes of conduct or guidelines for the use of social media by their journalists, with one of them being the Public Broadcaster with very limiting provisions, mainly for the protection of the PSM's brand and image (Albanian Public Broadcaster, 2017). There are systemic cases of influence from politics on the news media. The 2020 progress report prepared by the European Commission states that pressure from media owners and their political and economic interests pushes many Albanian journalists to resort to self- censorship. The strong ties between media and politics are also mentioned in all the latest local and international reports on media freedom in the country (European Commission, 2020).

The indicator on audio visual media, online platforms and electionsacquires a score of 44% and is rated medium risk. This is due to the poor track record of the PSM in providing a fair representation of political actors and political viewpoints in news and informative programs. Traditionally, the PSM channels in Albania tend to favor the political party in power. The private audiovisual channel also does not provide balanced coverage, particularly during election campaigns. According to the ODIHR report on June 30,

13 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union 2019, in local elections in Albania, political polarization was reflected in the tone of coverage of local private broadcasters. During the electoral period, most of the country talk shows are often on sale for politicians with official rates published by the country's Central Electoral Commission (ODIHR, 2019).

The indicatorstate regulation of resources and support to media sector acquires a score of 58% and is rated medium risk. This is mainly due to the fact that state advertisements are not distributed fairly among the media. There is no mechanism to guarantee that state advertisements are based on audience share. The state advertising procurement rules are rather simplistic and leave plenty of room for abuse, especially since the procedure allows for advertising contracts to be awarded to advertising agencies, which can then outsource the contract without being obliged to respect any specific criteria. There is no body mandated with monitoring this process. Another problem regarding advertisements is that they are often commissioned in the context of various projects implemented by central or local government authorities that are not subject to any procurement rules (Albanian Media Institute, 2019).

The indicator on theindependence of PSM governance and fundingacquires a score of 50% and is rated medium risk. This due to the fact that there has been occasional political interferences in the appointment and dismissal of managers at PSM. The law does not guarantee full independence from government or other political influence in the appointment procedures for Director General of the PSM. The legal framework foresees the control of parliament over the public broadcast through the selection of the members of the Supervisory Council, where six members are selected by the ruling majority and 5 from the opposition. Even though the recruitment should not be politicized, the selection of the last directors showed that the Supervisory Council was split among party lines (RSF & BIRN Albania, 2018).

3.4. Social Inclusiveness (72% - high risk) The Social Inclusiveness area focuses on the access to media by specific groups in society: minorities, local and regional communities, women and people with disabilities. It also examines the country’s media literacy environment, including the digital skills of the overall population. In addition, for the 2021 edition of the MPM, a new indicator has been added to the Social Inclusiveness area in order to assess new challenges raising from the uses of digital technologies: Protection against illegal and harmful speech. Due to this modification of the indicators, comparison with previous editions of the MPM should be handled with extreme care.

14 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union Similarly with last year report, the Social Inclusiveness area score is rated as high risk.

The indicator on Access to media for minoritiesacquires a score of 60%. Starting from 2018, most of the minorities have limited access to airtime on the PSM channels and during 2020, two additional news editions in Serbian and Bulgarian were added, by changing the score from high to medium risk for this indicator. The two minorities excluded are Egyptians, which are a cultural minority but speaks Albanian, and Bosnians. Although minorities have access to airtime in the PSM, they do not have access to airtime in [9] private television and radio. There are several provisions in the National Action Plan on facilitating access to media for people with disabilities, but the measures taken are fragmented and not effectively implemented (World Vision Albania, 2020).

The indicator access to media for local/regional communities and for community mediaacquires a score of 44% and is rated medium risk. Although the law grants access to regional or local media to media platforms, some local broadcasters have complained that hosting cost are too high for Albania. As a result, many local TV stations in the regions covered already by digitization process have closed (Kabashi, G., 2019). There are no subsidies granted for local media in Albania. Although community media are [10] recognized by the law , they are considered mostly under the audio frequencies and not the visual ones. Also, the Law stipulates that community media are exempted from licensing fee (Article 25, par. 2) , but still have to apply for a permission, which may be rejected. Also, they are not allowed to air for-profit advertisement (Article 57, par. 6).

The indicator onAccess to media for women has a score of 90% and is rated as high risk. In Albania, the PSM does not have any gender equality policy. There are only few general provisions in its editorial policy against the use of gender based stereotypes. All the members (11) of the governing board of PSM are men. In the past years, there was just one women who resigned. Although women are proportionally represented in current affairs broadcasting and news, male experts are evidently and systematically more often invited by media to comment on political and other relevant matters and events than female experts (Albanian Media Institute, 2018b).

The indicator onMedia literacy has a score of 71% and is rated as high risk. Media literacy policies in

15 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union Albania are underdeveloped or not well implemented. Specific policies on media literacy exist only to a small extent, and in some cases they are part of a broader regulation. Also media literacy is present but only to a limited extent in the education curriculum. Parts of certain subjects do touch on media literacy concepts, although there is no separate subject of media literacy, neither in optional subjects, nor in the main curricula. The level of knowledge and training of teachers/professors in Albania lags behind and training on media literacy is provided only on sporadic cases through non-formal education (Albanian Media Institute, 2018c).

The indicator Protection against illegal and harmful speech hasa score of 94% and is rated as high risk, because in Albania there are no laws and policies that aim at countering disinformation. Despite some initiatives supported by donors and international organizations, focused on maintaining media independence and fighting disinformation, these attempts are weak and struggle to counter the spread propaganda and disinformation. Disinformation is widely spread in the country and some clear consequences have been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conspiracy theories on the coronavirus spread like wildfire in online and social media during the lockdown period in early 2020, often drowning out mainstream media (Likmeta, B., 2020).

16 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union 4. Pluralism in the online environment: assessment of the risks

The assessment of Media pluralism Online in Albania ranges from medium to high risk. The areas of Market Plurality, Social Inclusiveness and Political Independence are ranked worst in digital when compared to all media. Fundamental Protection is ranked with the same risk in digital as to other media outlets. In regard to digital media in Albania the area of Fundamental Protection has the lowest risk denominator, ranked as medium risk with a score of 59%, followed by Market Plurality with 88.4%, Social Inclusiveness at 95.5% and Political Independence at 97% - all three areas rated as high risk.

Freedom of expression online is not clearly defined in law, but in the case law, with regards to the criminal offence of slander or civil lawsuits for defamation, online media have the same responsibilities and obligations as audiovisual or print media outlets. The government tried to expand the scope of the Law 97/2013 on Audio and Audio-visual Media Services in 2020 to include online media, but the initiative was scrapped due to opposition from journalists, media organisations, the EU and the Council of Europe. Although the state generally refrains from filtering, blocking and monitoring online content, some occasional violations have occurred in 2019 and 2020, including the blockage of the blogging site Medium over copyright infringement and the blocking of the news portal ‘Jeta Osh Qef’, after a criminal probe over the publication of fake news that created panic, after a deadly earthquake hit Central Albania in November 2019. The blocking and filtering of websites is not always done in a transparent manner, and it is unclear what is considered harmful and illegal content, which ISPs are required to take down (BIRN Albania, 2020a). Although individuals have at least four complaint mechanisms to address violations of rights in the online environment, these mechanisms offered by state actors are not well-known nor very effective in addressing complaints. According to the Mapping Media Freedom Database from ECPMF, there was one case of online harassment during the past year registered in Albania. A comparative analysis by gender conducted by the Albanian Helsinki Committee indicates that there are a higher number of overall violations toward female journalists compared to their male colleagues, but unfortunately, there is no separate data for digital threats or harassments (Albanian Helsinki Committee, 2020b).

17 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union [11] In Albania, the law that establishes data retention obligations for Electronic Telecommunications Operators and Internet Service Providers does not comply with articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Providers of electronic communications networks and services are obliged to retain and administer the data files of their subscribers for up to two years. All these files upon request must be made available to the authorities determined in the Albanian Penal Procedure Code. Providers are obliged to maintain the provisions of Law 8517/1999 on Protection of Personal Data (as [12] amended ). However, according to experts, the period of retention of data does not comply with articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (BIRN Albania, 2020a). In 2019, the penetration rate for broadband from fixed networks was about 58% for households and 15.5% for the population. According to the Electronic Communication and Postal Authority, 63% of the population has mobile broadband and 15% fixed broadband. Both subscribers overlap. The Law on Electronic Communications refers to the 'net neutrality' under its Article 1, but there are no specific provisions on how to enforce it. There are no data or case law from the Authority on Postal and Electronic Communications on how ISPs manage network traffic, whether this is done in a transparent, impartial and neutral way, without discriminating against particular types of content or content from particular sources.

The Albanian legislation does not contain specific provisions requiring the disclosure of ownership details in the digital news media sector. The only obligation is the registration of the domain, which can be done by any individual. Given the low market pluralism of legacy media, the digital environment is considered to be more open, despite the opacity of the market caused by lack of data on the audience share among digital native news media and lack of legal provisions to prevent high degree of cross-ownership between the different media outlets. Based on the latest poll which was published in 2017, 56% of the respondents were using news aggregators, searching engines or direct visits to get informed, while 44% of them said that they use social media as the main channel to get informed / get their news (IDRA Institute, 2017). Digital native media market in Albania remains highly fragmented and informal, making it impossible to estimate how the general shortfall in revenue in the media market due to the COVID-19 pandemic has affected this sector. Unfortunately, initiative to develop new sources of revenue for the digital native media in Albania are limited, including subscriptions or Google ads. Google doesn't offer any revenue from google ads for websites in Albanian language (BIRN Albania, 2020a). The latest data from a 2018 study report on online media in Albania shows that 29% of them said they did not include advertising in their medium. A part of them are news portals working thanks to donations. Another section includes non-profitable media or community media, representing a particular group or ethnic or religious minority. At the same time, only 12% of the respondents declared they were making profit through their media, which is quite low. The majority of online media that responded to this survey, 45% of them, declared they managed just to break even, while another 36% said they were losing money. There are no state support schemes for online media in Albania (Albanina Media Institute, 2018b).

The principles of the Journalist's Ethics Code extend also to online media; however, they are seldom applied by online media outlets and hidden adverts are rampant. According to various reports, media owners and other commercial entities systematically influence editorial content. All-in-all, the advertising market in Albania is largely non-transparent and the legislation is not specific enough on how to measure the advertising market share. Albanian journalists continuously report that content is directly influenced by the economic or political interests of the owner. There is no specific regulation on electoral campaign coverage and political advertisement for both digital and social media. The leading digital native media in Albania are politically controlled. This does not include direct ownership but indirect control though financing. In several cases, ownership of news websites is not known and the source of their finances is also not known. Based on the data published by the Albanian Media Institute, at

18 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union least 1 in 10 online media are not registered in any form and 1 in 3 news websites operates for years without apparent revenues from ads, concluding that there is a severe lack of transparency and significant anonymity in online media (Albanian Media Institute, 2018b).

The funding of the PSM online mission in Albania is done through the tariff collected through the electricity [13] bill, as part of the overall budget allocated to PSM. The Law 97/2013 "On Audio-visual Media" states that the Board of PSM should monitor and guarantee the impartiality of information. Also, provisions on impartiality are included in the Statute and Editorial Policy of the PSM. However, traditionally PSM channels in Albania tend to favor the political party in power and coverage of different political groups during elections is not always fair. In Albania there are no provisions that regulate the political advertising on online platforms or social media during electoral campaigns; however, parties and candidates are obliged to report all their campaign spending. There is a lack of monitoring and transparency on spending of political parties online.

The latest data available from Eurostat (2020) ranks Albania as the less literate country in Europe, with only 21% of the population who have basic or above basic digital skills. Such data, together with lack of laws and policies that aim at countering disinformation in Albania, increase possible impact of fake news in the digital space, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a data analysis from BIRN, conspiracy theories on the coronavirus spread like wildfire in online and social media during the lockdown period in early 2020, often drowning out mainstream media (Likmeta, B., 2020). The main legal instruments against hate speech in Albania are related to the criminal code’s provisions on [14] [15] anti-hate crimes and misdemeanors , as well as the Law 10 221/2010 on Protection from Discrimination . Despite the existence of legal provisions and complaints’ mechanisms, civil society reports show that hate speech remains a widespread and underreported phenomenon in Albanian media and on social networks, where one of the main problems is the lack of moderation of readers’ comments in many online media (Pro LGBT Albania, 2020).

19 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union 5. Conclusions

Albania scores as high risk in 60% of the indicators and medium risk on the rest of them. Most of the indicators, where the country has a medium risk score relate mainly to the legislative framework in place to guarantee media freedom and the regulatory framework for audiovisual media. While Market Plurality is the area where all indicators have a high risk score.

In the area ofFundamental Protection Albania should do more to increase the professional and journalistic standards of its media outlets in order to avoid the threat of government intervention to regulate online media content, as proposed by the current ruling Socialist Party. There is also a need to improve the working conditions of journalists, particularly in regards to the timely payment of salaries and greater jobs security.

In regards toMarket PluralityAlbania faces a high level of news media concentration in its audiovisual media market, while the viability of most outlets – apart from a number of family owned conglomerates the control the lion share of revenues and audiences, is weak. More should be done to find new sources of revenue and increase competition.

Media owners’ economic interests in heavily regulated markets put Albanian media outlets underPolitical Influence. Albania should strengthen safeguards to secure the editorial autonomy of media outlets from political pressure and undue influence.

Social Inclusiveness is another area where Albania’s media environment is ranked as high risk. In order to improve such ranking Albanian should more to improve access for women and minorities in the media, while raise the media literacy level in the country.

20 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union 6. Notes

[1] Article 3, par. 2. Law no. 96/2017 "For the Protection of National Minorities in the Republic of Albania", https://www.kmd.al/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/5.pdf [2] Law no. 97/2013 "On Audio-visual Media in the Republic of Albania", http://ama.gov.al/wp- content/uploads/2016/06/LAW-NO-97-2013-ON-THE-AUDIOVISUAL-MEDIA-AUTHORITY.pdf [3] Law no. 7756, dated 11 October 1993, “On the Press”, as amended with Law no. 8239, dated 3 September 1997. http://80.78.70.231/pls/kuv/f?p=201:Ligj:8239:03.09.1997 [4] Article 23. Constitution of the Republic of Albania, https://www.osce.org/albania/41888

[5] Law no. 119/2014 "On the Right to Information", https://www.rti-rating.org/wp- content/uploads/Albania.pdf [6] Article 121. Law no. 97/2013 "On Audio-visual Media in the Republic of Albania", http://ama.gov.al/wp- content/uploads/2016/06/LAW-NO-97-2013-ON-THE-AUDIOVISUAL-MEDIA-AUTHORITY.pdf [7] Article 61. Law no. 97/2013 "On Audio-visual Media in the Republic of Albania", http://ama.gov.al/wp- content/uploads/2016/06/LAW-NO-97-2013-ON-THE-AUDIOVISUAL-MEDIA-AUTHORITY.pdf [8] Law no. 97/2013. "On Audio-visual Media in the Republic of Albania, http://ama.gov.al/wp- content/uploads/2016/06/LAW-NO-97-2013-ON-THE-AUDIOVISUAL-MEDIA-AUTHORITY.pdf [9] Para. 1.1.2. National Action Plan on Persons with Disabilities 2016-2020, https://www.al.undp.org/cont ent/albania/en/home/library/poverty/national-action-plan-persons-with-disabilities-2016-2020.html [10] Article 3, par. 49. Law no. 97/2013 "On Audio-visual Media in the Republic of Albania", http://ama.gov. al/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/LAW-NO-97-2013-ON-THE-AUDIOVISUAL-MEDIA-AUTHORITY.pdf [11] Law no. 9918, date 19.5.2008, amended "On Electronic Communications in the Republic of Albania" https://www.parlament.al/Files/ProjektLigje/20200121101826ligj nr 91 dt 18 12 2019.pdf [12] Law no. 9887, date 10.03.2008, amended "For the Protection of Personal Data", https://www.idp.al/wp- content/uploads/2020/03/Ligj_Nr.9887_datë_10.3.2008_i_ndryshuar.pdf [13] Article 101, para. 3. Law 97/2013 "On Audio-visual Media in the Republic of Albania", http://ama.gov.al /wpcontent/uploads/2016/06/LAW-NO-97-2013-ON-THE-AUDIOVISUAL-MEDIA-AUTHORITY.pdf [14] Article 265 and 266. Law No. 7895, dated 27 January 1995. "Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania" (unofficial English translation) https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/8235/file/Albania_CC_1995_am2017_en.pdf [15] Article 1. Law 10/221 "On Protection from Discrimination", https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--- ed_protect/---protrav/---ilo_aids/documents/legaldocument/wcms_178702.pdf

21 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union 7. References

Agjencia Kombëtare e Shoqerisë së Informacionit. (2020). Coronavirus Albania. https://coronavirus.al/statistika/ Albanian Helsinki Committee. (2020a). Evaluation of Human Rights and of Rule of Law During the Albanian Presidency of the OSCE. https://ahc.org.al/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Evaluation-of-Human-Rights-and-Rule-of-Law-during-the- Albanian-Presidency-of-OSCE.pdf Albanian Helsinki Committee. (2020b). Research Study on Journalists’ Labor Rights. https://ahc.org.al/wp- content/uploads/2020/07/Research-Study-on-Journalists%E2%80%99-Labor-Rights.pdf Albanian Media Institute. (2018a). Kodi i Etikës së Gazetarit. https://kshm.al/kodi-i-etikes-se-gazetarit/ Albanian Media Institute. (2018b). Mapping online media in AlbaniaL Survey on online media. https://www.osfa.al/sites/default/files/media_online_english.pdf Albanian Media Institute. (2018c). Report on Media and Information Literacy and the role of public institutions in Albania. http://www.institutemedia.org/2019/12/10/report-on-media-and-information-literacy-and-the-role-of-public- institutions-in-albania/ Albanian Media Institute. (2019). The advertising market in the Albanian media. http://www.institutemedia.org/2020/01/27/advertising-market-in-albanian-media/ BIRN Albania. (2020a). Internet Governance in Albania and Its Role on Media Freedom. https://birn.eu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Internet-Governance-1-1.pdf BIRN Albania. (2020b). Paditë kundër medias në Gjykatën e Tiranës. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPYSZMWe2XY Bogdani, A. (2020, March 30). Kriza e koronavirusit trondit edhe industrinë e medias në Shqipëri. Reporter.al. https://www.reporter.al/kriza-e-koronavirusit-trondit-edhe-industrine-e-medias-ne-shqiperi/ Dorian Matlija. (2018). Legal Assessment: Albania Media Ownership Monitor. https://albania.mom-rsf.org/en /library/?tx_lfrogmom_library%5Bdocument%5D=5718&tx_lfrogmom_library%5Baction%5D=show&tx_lfrog mom_library%5Bcontroller%5D=Document&cHash=f686c07f5187a66ea59201d0a0893375 European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. (2020). Responding to the Coronavirus Crisis: Update on Albania. https://www.ebrd.com/cs/Satellite?c=Content&cid=1395289864841&d=&pagename=EBRD%2FContent%2F DownloadDocument European Commission. (2020). Albania 2020 Report. https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/albania_report_2020.pdf European Fund For the Balkans. (2020). The Western Balkans in times of pandemic – public opinion survey. https://www.balkanfund.org/pubs/uploads/The_Western_Balkans_in_times_of_.pdf Eurostat. (2020). Individuals' level of digital skills. https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=isoc_sk_dskl_i&lang=en INSTAT. (2012). Population and Housing Census 2011. http://www.instat.gov.al/media/3058/main_results__population_and_housing_census_2011.pdf Kabashi, G. (2019, November 9). Kostot e dixhitalizimit mbyllin televizionet locale. Reporter.al. https://www.reporter.al/kostot-e-dixhitalizimit-mbyllin-televizionet-lokale/ Likmeta, B. (2020, November 4). Fake News Rivals Real News for Albanians Reading about COVID-19. Balkan Insight. https://balkaninsight.com/2020/11/04/fake-news-rivals-real-news-for-albanians-reading-about-covid/ ODIRH. (2019). ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report. https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/1/f/429230_0.pdf Pro LGBT Albania. (2020). Raporti i monitorimit të medias për gjuhën e

22 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union Urrejtjes. https://www.historiaime.al/feminizmi/raporti-i-plote-i-monitorimit-te-medias-mbi-gjuhen-e-urrejtjes- seksiste-dhe-diskriminuese/ Reporter Without Borders. (2020). Freedom of the Media Index. https://rsf.org/en/albania Reporters Without Borders, BIRN Albania. (2018). Media Ownership Monitor-Albania. http://albania.mom-rsf.org/ Res Publica. (2020). Right to Information. http://www.respublica.org.al/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Raporti-FOI-2020-Res-Publica.pdf RTSH. (2017). Parimet Editoriale te RTSH. https://www.rtsh.al/rreth-rtsh/parimet-editoriale-te-rtsh RTSH. (2020). Annual Report of RTSH, 2019. https://www.rtsh.al/rreth-rtsh/raporti-vjetor-ekonomiko-financiar Ruci, A. (2020, April 29). Në Shqipëri "gazetarët mund të pushohen me një sms". Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/sq/n%C3%AB-shqip%C3%ABri-gazetar%C3%ABt-mund-t%C3%AB-pushohen-me- nj%C3%AB-sms/a-53278560 Venice Commission. (2020). Opinion on draft amendments to law n°97/2013 on the audiovisual media service. https://rm.coe.int/vc-opinion-albania-0620/16809ec9c9 World Vision Albania. (2020). Raporti i dytë i monitorimit të Planit Kombëtar të Veprimit për Personat me Aftësi të Kufizuara (2016-2020). https://www.worldvision.al/raporti-i-dyte-i-monitorimit-te-planit-kombetar-te-veprimit-personat-me-aftesi-te- kufizuara-2016

23 The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European Union Annexe I. Country Team

First name Last name Position Institution MPM2021 CT Leader

Kristina Voko Executive Director Balkan Investigative X Reporting Network Albania

Besar Likmeta Editor in Chief and Balkan Investigative Researcher Reporting Network Albania

Annexe II. Group of Experts The Group of Experts is composed of specialists with a substantial knowledge and recognized experience in the field of media. The role of the Group of Experts was to review the answers of the country team to 16 variables out of the 200 composing the MPM2021. Consulting the point of view of recognized experts aimed at maximizing the objectivity of the replies given to variables whose evaluation could be considered as subjective, and therefore to ensure the accuracy of the final results of the MPM. However, it is important to highlight that the final country report does not necessarily reflects the individual views of the experts who participated. It only represents the views of the national country team that carried out the data collection and authored the report.

First name Last name Position Institution

Sara Xhumbari Director of Legal and Licenses Albanian Audiovisual Media Department Authority

Ilda Londo Lead Researcher Albanian Media Institute

Koloreto Cukali Executive Director Albanian Media Council

Sidita Zaja Executive Director Pro LGBT / Historia Ime

Research Project Report doi: 10.2870/964863 Issue 2021.2839 ISBN: 978-92-9466-053-4 QM-03-21-250-EN-N July 2021