Alliance of Independent Press Councils of Europe (AIPCE)

NOTE 1 Some of the items below may be covered by a more general principle within the Ethical Code. The questions refer to whether councils explicitly mention these points in their Code.

NOTE 2 France has no answers here because they don't have their own Code of Ethics, they use some other documents which they cannot amend themselves.

What is the name of the Code of Ethics in the media council's native language?

Council	Name of Ethical Code
Albania	Kodi i Etikes
Austria	Ehrenkodex
Belgium - Dutch	Code van de Raad voor de Journalistiek
Belgium - French & German	Code de déontologie journalistique
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Kodeks za štampu i online medije
Bulgaria	Етичен кодекс (Etisjen Kodeks)
Canada - Québec	Guide de Déontologie
Croatia	Kodeks časti hrvatskih novinara
Cyprus	Kodika Dimisiografikis Deontologias
Denmark	Vejledning om god presseskik
Estonia	Eesti ajakirjanduseetika koodeks
Finland	Journalistin ohjeet
France	Three Charters are used: Charte du SNJ, Déclaration de Munich, Charte Mondiale
Georgia	ქარტიის (Charter)
Germany	Pressekodex
Hungary	Etikai kodex
Iceland	Siðareglur Blaðamannafélags Íslands
Ireland	Code of Practice
Kosovo	Kodi i Mediave të Shkruara të Kosovës
Luxembourg	Code de déontologie
Netherlands	Leidraad
North Macedonia	Кодекс на новинарите на македонија (Code of Journalists of Macedonia)
Norway	Ver Varsam-plakaten
Slovakia	Etický kódex
Slovenia	Kodeks novinarjev Slovenije
Sweden	Publicitetsregler
Switzerland	Journalistenkodex
UK Impress	Standards Code

Which provision of the Code of Ethics is most often complained about or found to have been breached most often?

	Prejudice	Obligation to be critical of sources	Right to reply	Factual accuracy	Discrimination	Hate Speech	Dignity and public image	Correction of Errors	Complaints are not considered on the basis of the specific guidelines	Unanswered
%	10	3	7	64	3	3	3	3	3	3
#	3	1	2	18	1	1	1	1	1	1
Countries	Hungary Ireland Netherlands	Norway	Norway Slovakia	Albania Austria Belgium - Dutch Belgium - French & German Canada - Québec Cyprus Denmark Estonia Georgia Germany Iceland Kosovo Luxembourg Netherlands North Macedonia Slovenia Switzerland UK Impress	Bulgaria	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Croatia	Finland	Sweden	France

Who is responsible for writing or updating Code?

Council	Who is responsible for writing or updating the Code of Ethics?
Albania	Albanian Media Institution, in cooperation with the Press Council
Austria	The Board of the Council
Belgium - Dutch	Council members
Belgium - French & German	The annual meeting of the Association
Bosnia and Herzegovina	The Press Council itself
Bulgaria	-
Canada - Québec	The GPR (pour Guide, Processus et Règlements) committee, consisting of 6 members + secretary-general and president
Croatia	The General Assembly of the assocation
Cyprus	-
Denmark	The Danish Union of Journalists and the Danish Media Association
Estonia	Board of the News Media Association
Finland	The annual meeting of the Association
France	-
Georgia	The assembly of the Charter
Germany	The General Assembly of the Press Council
Hungary	The Board of the Council prepares, the General Assembly has to accept it
Iceland	The General Assembly of the Union (held annually)
Ireland	Code Committee
Kosovo	Board of the organization
Luxembourg	General Assembly of the Council
Netherlands	-
North Macedonia	The Association of Journalists and the Macedonian Media Institute
Norway	Board of the Norwegian Press Association
Slovakia	The Board of the Council
Slovenia	Proposed changes to the Code have to be approved by general assembly of the Council
Sweden	Board of the Association
Switzerland	Board of the Foundation
UK Impress	Code Committee

When was the latest update to the Code of Ethics?

Latest Update
Council	Latest Update
Albania	2018
Austria	2019
Belgium - Dutch	2019
Belgium - French & German	2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2011
Bulgaria	Never
Canada - Québec	2019
Croatia	2009
Cyprus	-
Denmark	2013
Estonia	2010
Finland	2014
France	-
Georgia	-
Germany	2017
Hungary	-
Iceland	1991
Ireland	2019
Kosovo	2019
Luxembourg	2006
Netherlands	2019
North Macedonia	Never
Norway	-
Slovakia	2017
Slovenia	2019
Sweden	2020
Switzerland	Never
UK Impress	Never

What was changed in the latest update to the Code of Ethics?

Change	%	#	Members
Online Media Guideline	10	3	Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Kosovo
Court Reporting Guideline	7	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina Kosovo
Whistleblower / Source Protection	7	2	Kosovo Netherlands
Suicide Reporting Guideline	3	1	Ireland
Small Correction / Wording update	21	6	Belgium - French & German Estonia Georgia Iceland Slovenia Sweden
Jurisprudence Update	7	2	Belgium - Dutch Denmark
Digital Environment	7	2	Belgium - Dutch Luxembourg
Error Correction Clarification	7	2	Finland Slovenia
Hate Speech Definition	3	1	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Children & Minors Reporting Guideline	3	1	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Victim Reporting Guideline	3	1	Austria
Suspects and Offenders Reporting Guideline	3	1	Germany
News Media Definition	3	1	Canada - Québec
Media Environment	3	1	Slovakia
Privacy Guideline	3	1	Slovenia
Unanswered	32	9	Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus France Hungary North Macedonia Norway Switzerland UK Impress

Were any guidelines added in the latest update to the Code of Ethics?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	22	46	32
#	6	13	9
Countries	Austria Belgium - Dutch Bosnia and Herzegovina Denmark Ireland Luxembourg	Albania Belgium - French & German Canada - Québec Estonia Finland Georgia Germany Iceland Kosovo Netherlands Slovakia Slovenia Sweden	Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus France Hungary North Macedonia Norway Switzerland UK Impress

What could be triggers to update the Code of Ethics?

Trigger	%	#	Members
Decision of the Association	25	7	Bosnia and Herzegovina Georgia Germany Ireland Norway Sweden UK Impress
Issues in complaint-handling process	14	4	Canada - Québec Kosovo Netherlands Slovenia
Societal Changes	7	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina Denmark
Controversial Issues	3	1	Belgium - Dutch
Legal or Code Discrepancies	21	6	Belgium - Dutch Belgium - French & German Finland Hungary Iceland North Macedonia
Audience Feedback	7	2	Belgium - French & German Finland
Technological Changes	7	2	Belgium - French & German Finland
Legislative Changes	7	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina Luxembourg
Needs of Profession	7	2	Albania Luxembourg
Feedback from Senate	3	1	Austria
Ethics Committee Recommendation	3	1	Croatia
Media Landscape Changes	7	2	Iceland Slovakia
Council Guidelines added to Code	3	1	Slovenia
No Trigger	3	1	Estonia
Unanswered	14	4	Bulgaria Cyprus France Switzerland

Do you publish guidelines or statements that explain, interpret or contextualize the principles in the Code of Ethics?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	50	46	4
#	14	13	1
Countries	Belgium - Dutch Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Denmark Finland Georgia Germany Kosovo North Macedonia Slovenia Switzerland UK Impress	Albania Austria Canada - Québec Croatia Estonia Hungary Iceland Ireland Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Slovakia Sweden	France

Has the Code of Ethics been amended to take user-generated content into account?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	11	86	3
#	3	24	1
Countries	Canada - Québec Finland Germany	Albania Austria Belgium - Dutch Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Georgia Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo Luxembourg Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland UK Impress	France

Has the Code of Ethics been amended to take rectification of online errors into account?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	11	86	3
#	3	24	1
Countries	Belgium - Dutch Finland Germany	Albania Austria Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada - Québec Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Georgia Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo Luxembourg Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland UK Impress	France

Has the Code of Ethics been amended to take responsibility for hyperlinks or hyperlinked content into account?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	14	82	4
#	4	23	1
Countries	Belgium - Dutch Luxembourg Netherlands Norway	Albania Austria Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada - Québec Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland Georgia Germany Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo North Macedonia Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland UK Impress	France

Does the Code of Ethics mention who is resposible for embedded content (like a tweet or Instagram post)?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	4	93	3
#	1	26	1
Countries	Belgium - Dutch	Albania Austria Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada - Québec Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland Georgia Germany Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo Luxembourg Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland UK Impress	France

Has the Code of Ethics been amended to take responsibility for use of social media by journalists or media outlets into account?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	4	93	3
#	1	26	1
Countries	UK Impress	Albania Austria Belgium - Dutch Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada - Québec Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland Georgia Germany Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo Luxembourg Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland	France

Does the Code of Ethics say anything about whether or not the comment section should be monitored and, or, moderated

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	18	79	3
#	5	22	1
Countries	Albania Belgium - Dutch Finland Netherlands Norway	Austria Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada - Québec Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Georgia Germany Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo Luxembourg North Macedonia Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland UK Impress	France

Has the Code of Ethics been amended to take responsibility for manipulation, enhancement or cropping of photos into account?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	46	50	4
#	13	14	1
Countries	Albania Austria Belgium - Dutch Bosnia and Herzegovina Canada - Québec Estonia Finland Germany Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Slovakia Sweden	Belgium - French & German Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Denmark Georgia Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo North Macedonia Slovenia Switzerland UK Impress	France

Has the Code of Ethics been amended to take responsibility for right to be forgotten or digital archives into account?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	14	82	4
#	4	23	1
Countries	Belgium - Dutch Denmark Germany Netherlands	Albania Austria Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada - Québec Croatia Cyprus Estonia Finland Georgia Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo Luxembourg North Macedonia Norway Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland UK Impress	France

Has the Code of Ethics been amended to take responsibility for use of information or audio visual material from social media, for example, the use of pictures from personal social media accounts, into account?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	4	93	3
#	1	26	1
Countries	Belgium - Dutch	Albania Austria Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada - Québec Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland Georgia Germany Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo Luxembourg Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland UK Impress	France

Has the Code of Ethics been amended to take responsibility for data journalism and use of algorithms into account?

	Yes	No	Unanswered
%	0	96	4
#	0	27	1
Countries		Albania Austria Belgium - Dutch Belgium - French & German Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Canada - Québec Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland Georgia Germany Hungary Iceland Ireland Kosovo Luxembourg Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland UK Impress	France

Has the Code of Ethics been amended to take responsibility for use of AI or Robot journalism into account?

Media Councils in the Digital Age

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Code of Ethics