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You may have noticed or been made aware of the fact that many entities operating in the field of social media or other communication platforms through which they broadcast or otherwise communicate (e.g., on YouTube, Facebook Watch, Instagram, OnlyFans, or TikTok, etc.) have incurred numerous obligations arising from new legislation in this area, which we will explain in more detail. The purpose of this article is to provide brief information on the adopted changes concerning these entities (authorization to provide on-demand audiovisual media services—AVMS) and the basic obligations that have arisen for them, with an emphasis on the obligation to register in the Public Sector Partners Register (RPVS).

On June 22, 2022, the National Council of the Slovak Republic approved a new law—Act No. 264/2022 Coll. on Media Services and on Amendments to Certain Acts (the Media Services Act) (hereinafter also referred to as the “Media Services Act”), effective as of August 1, 2022 (certain provisions have different effective dates). The Media Services Act also repealed Act No. 308/2000 Coll. on Broadcasting and Retransmission and on Amendments to Act No. 195/2000 Coll. on Telecommunications, and Act No. 220/2007 Coll. on the Digital Broadcasting of Program Services and the Provision of Other Content Services via Digital Transmission and on Amendments to Certain Acts (the Digital Broadcasting Act).

The currently valid Media Services Act, in Section 19(3), stipulates that any distribution of a program service via the Internet is considered broadcasting via the Internet, as it stipulates that the broadcasting of a program service via the Internet is the distribution of a program service exclusively via the Internet (webcasting).

Section 26 of the Act defines an on-demand audiovisual media service (AVMS) as a service

1. which is primarily of an economic nature,
2. the principal purpose of which, or of a distinct part thereof, is to enable the viewing of programs at a time chosen by the user,
3. which is provided at the user’s specific request based on a program catalog compiled by the provider of the on-demand audiovisual media service,
4. for which the on-demand audiovisual media service provider is editorially responsible,
5. which is provided via a network, and
6. which is provided for the purpose of informing, entertaining, or educating the general public

and that an on-demand audiovisual media service does not include the provision of on-demand audio recordings (e.g., podcasts, etc.) and

and in § 27 defines that a provider of an on-demand audiovisual media service is a person who is editorially responsible for the selection of the content of the on-demand audiovisual media service and determines the manner in which it is organized.

AVMS are therefore

1. services where the user chooses which video or program to watch and when to watch it online or in an app—e.g., Netflix, online TV archives, or video sections of news portals
2. a channel on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook Watch, TikTok, Instagram, or OnlyFans, provided it was established or is provided for the purpose of generating profit and also meets the other conditions set forth in Section 26 of the Media Services Act

The basic obligations of an AVMS provider under Section 28 of the Media Services Act include:

1. the obligation to ensure easy, direct, and permanent public access, in particular to the following information: the name, business name or first and last name of the audiovisual media service provider upon request, address of the registered office, place of business, or residence of the audiovisual media service provider upon request, the telephone number, email address, or website of the on-demand audiovisual media service provider, the ownership structure of the on-demand audiovisual media service provider and the ultimate beneficiary of the on-demand audiovisual media service provider, information that the on-demand audiovisual media service provider is subject to the jurisdiction of the Slovak Republic and the authority of the regulator and other supervisory body, information on whether the provider of an on-demand audiovisual media service is subject to any self-regulatory mechanism and the name of the self-regulatory body enforcing such mechanism, the authorization number for the provision of an on-demand audiovisual media service assigned by the regulator—this obligation does not apply to a provider of an on-demand audiovisual media service for whom information is published in the register,
2. the obligation to provide cinematographic works only at the time and under the conditions agreed upon with the rights holders of such works,
3. the obligation to ensure that programs and other components of on-demand audiovisual media services provided as part of an election campaign comply with specific regulations,
4. the obligation to ensure that important and urgent announcements, calls, or decisions by state authorities in the urgent public interest to the extent specified by specific regulations, or civil protection information made available through an on-demand audiovisual media service, are accompanied by interpretation into Slovak Sign Language and, at the same time, subtitling for the hearing impaired or simultaneous transcription of the spoken word.
5. the obligation to maintain specific statistics on the on-demand audiovisual media service provided, including an assessment of the proportion of European works, including the manner of their promotion, and the proportion of programs with multimodal access.
6. the obligation to provide the regulator with specific statistics on the on-demand audiovisual media service provided pursuant to paragraph 4 for a calendar month within 15 days of the date of receipt of the regulator’s request for such statistics
7. the obligation to report to the regulator current data on the number of end users of the on-demand audiovisual media service in aggregate once a year by January 31, as of January 1 of the given calendar year.

The Act further imposes either an authorization requirement or a notification requirement on AVMS providers, or entities that merely plan to provide AVMS, according to the following criteria:  

1. if the entity is a legal person and provides AVMS via its own website or application, authorization to provide AVMS is required prior to the commencement of AVMS provision (the Media Services Council has 90 days to grant authorization, and a fee of €260 is payable).
2. If the entity is a legal person and provides AVMS exclusively via a video-sharing platform, authorization to provide AVMS is required prior to commencement of the service (the Media Services Council has 90 days to grant it, and a fee of €260 is payable)
3. If the entity is a natural person and provides AVMS via its own website or application, authorization is required before the start of service provision (the Media Services Council has 90 days to grant it, and a fee of €260 is payable)
4. if the entity is a natural person and you provide AVMS exclusively via a video-sharing platform (e.g., YouTube, Facebook Watch, TikTok, Instagram, and others), they are required to notify the Media Services Council of this fact no later than the day the AVMS service begins. Submitting a notification of AVMS service provision is free of charge.

For the sake of completeness, we note that ordinary social media users who post only exceptionally and occasionally, not for the purpose of making a profit (posting is of a purely private and recreational nature), are not subject to any obligation—neither to obtain authorization nor to fulfill a notification obligation under the Media Services Act, as these individuals are not considered AVMS providers under the Media Services Act.

Section 174 of the Act therefore stipulates that the right to provide an on-demand audiovisual media service arises upon authorization of the provision, whereas this provision does not apply to the provision of an on-demand audiovisual media service exclusively via a video-sharing platform, if it is provided by an on-demand audiovisual media service provider who is a natural person and is not a video-sharing platform provider - in this case, the provider of an on-demand audiovisual media service is required to notify the regulator of the information required by law no later than the date on which the provision of the on-demand audiovisual media service begins.

Section 175(1) of the Act further provides that authorization may be granted for an on-demand audiovisual media service that is planned to be provided by

1. a natural person who has permanent or long-term residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic, provided that the person has full legal capacity, has no criminal record, and is registered in the register of public sector partners, a provider of an on-demand audiovisual media service who is also a public service broadcaster,
2. a provider of on-demand audiovisual media services that is also a public service broadcaster,
3. a legal entity with its registered office in the Slovak Republic, provided it has a clean record and is registered in the register of public sector partners.

An application for AVMS authorization must contain several required elements and attachments specified in Section 176 of the Media Services Act and must be submitted using the designated forms.   

It follows from the above that entities for which an on-demand audiovisual media service that they plan to provide (or are already providing) may be authorized, must first and foremost fulfill the obligation to be registered in the register of public sector partners. Without fulfilling this obligation, it is not possible to submit an application for authorization (at the same time, they must have permanent residence or a registered office within the territory of the Slovak Republic, legal capacity, and a clean criminal record).

As stated by the Council for Media Services on its website, the law allows the Council for Media Services to impose both financial and non-financial sanctions for failure to comply with obligations. The aim is not to impose sanctions, but to act in an educational and preventive manner; therefore, no actions leading to the sanctioning of the entities concerned will be initiated for the time being.

The law firm Hronček & Partners, s. r. o. is ready to provide you with comprehensive legal advice and services regarding the notification obligation, or the obligation to apply for authorization of audiovisual media services. At the same time, we can provide you with advice and services regarding registration in the public sector partner registry.