site.btaSofia Hosts International Conference of Balkan Region Media Regulators

An international conference of media regulators from the Balkan region, organised by the Bulgarian Council for Electronic Media (CEM) opened in Sofia on November 23, CEM said in a press release on Thursday. Representatives from Albania, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkiye took part in the event.

CEM Chairperson Sonya Momchilova opened the conference by expressing her belief that the meeting will be fruitful and provide the answers to many questions, which will be beneficial for the harmony and normalisation of the media environment, the regulation of which, according to her, is an increasingly delicate and complex activity. 

Lubos Kuklis of EPRA (European Platform of Regulatory Authorities) took part in the forum online.

On November 24, the second day of the forum, the participants presented the constitution, structure and characteristics of the regulatory authorities in their countries. The moderator of the panel "Artificial Intelligence in Regulation - Advantages and Risks", CEM member Dr. Gabriela Naplatanova, highlighted the possibility of countering misinformation and hate speech with the help of technology. The guest speaker from the Catalan Audiovisual Council, Monica Ruiz, presented an artificial intelligence (AI) model developed to assist monitoring in the selection of the flow of information to be analysed. Deniz Güler introduced the participants to the data analysis system that the Turkish media regulator is working with. Identix CEO Vladimir Petkov presented the possibilities of AI in the fight against hate speech, and cybersecurity specialist Yassen Tanev focused on the ethical aspects of working with AI. Deputy Minister of e-Government Blagovest Kirilov outlined the regulatory framework and expected changes in the legislation.

Panel discussions on the topics: misinformation, media literacy, regional specifics of regulation; commercial speech on gambling, were also held on the second day of the event.