The research project “How independent are you really? Assessing the formal and actual independence of media regulators with the INDIREG methodology” receives funding from the Dutch Foundation for Democracy and Media.

Coordinated by the Institute for Information Law (IViR) the research team consists of Dr. Kristina Irion (University of Amsterdam), Dr. Sara Svensson (Central European University) and Michéle Ledger (University of Namur).

Each European country has a media regulator – an authority that is tasked to oversee and implement EU’s Audiovisual Media Service Directive. In order to remove national media regulators from political and economic influence and ensure media freedoms, these are set-up as independent bodies. The influential INDIREG study from 2011 has informed the EU policy-maker to introduce new rules on independent regulators in order to strengthen media governance. The project will evaluate the impact of the INDIREG methodology on media governance at EU and member states level and aims to preserve its relevance for future assessment cycles of regulatory independence in the media sector.