Kosovo faces an increasingly urgent need to align its media and digital governance framework with European Union standards, as technological developments—especially in artificial intelligence, AI—outpace its current legal and institutional capacities.
Although Kosovo’s constitution and legislation were once broadly harmonised with EU principles, its regulatory framework for media, online platforms, and emerging technologies has become outdated. Therefore, Kosovo is taking steps to bridge the gap between its legal framework and technological advancement, ushered in by the rise of AI, by aligning it with the European Union acquis.
Krenare Sogojeva Dërmaku, Kosovo’s Commissioner for Information and Privacy, told Prishtina Insight that a draft Impact Assessment Report of the EU AI Act in Kosovo aims to support the country’s alignment with EU standards on artificial intelligence and personal data protection, as part of the country’s broader European integration process.
The draft was presented on February 27, 2025, by the Information and Privacy Agency, AIP, in cooperation with the Strategic Planning Department of the Prime Minister’s Office, and with support from German Corporation for International Cooperation, GIZ. In an official statement, AIP noted that, “this assessment represents the first structured institutional analysis of AI governance in Kosovo and lays the foundation for developing a national framework aligned with European Union standards.”
The initiative also proposes a pilot project within a public institution to test the application of AI systems, particularly in data processing and decision-making. “This practical approach aims to refine governance mechanisms before scaling them across institutions,” the AIP statement reads.
Sogojeva Dërmaku told Prishtina Insight that, “at its core, the draft focuses on assessing the impact of the EU AI Act in relation to Kosovo’s existing legal framework, particularly the Law on Personal Data Protection. It also identifies legal, institutional, and practical gaps that must be addressed for future harmonisation.”
Sogojeva Dërmaku added that the draft, which is still in development, provides structured findings, recommendations for legal amendments or clarifications, and proposed indicators for monitoring and evaluating institutional progress. “Its goal is to establish a clear foundation for developing a safe, ethical, and EU-compliant approach to the use and governance of AI systems in Kosovo.”
An “urgent and structural” need
A person scrolls the screen of a mobile phone. Illustration: EPA-EFE/HARISH TYAGI
Blerta Thaçi, Executive Director at the Prishtina based NGO Open Data Kosovo, stresses that aligning Kosovo’s legislation with EU standards in media and privacy regulation is no longer optional—it is both urgent and structural.
Thaçi told Prishtina Insight that, though she considers AIP’s initiative to assess the impact of the EU AI Act an important step forward, “the real challenge will be translating these principles into concrete and enforceable regulations within the local context.”
“In a reality where technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, directly influence the production, distribution, and manipulation of information, the lack of harmonisation creates serious gaps in protecting citizens and safeguarding media integrity,” Thaçi stated.
Thaçi outlined several key privacy mechanisms that Kosovo should adopt to align with EU standards, including mandatory AI assessments in media and public institutions for human rights and privacy risks, algorithmic transparency so that citizens know when content is generated by AI, and more efficient data protection systems to provide effective enforcement and oversight.
She also stressed the importance of holding public institutions and media accountable for their use of data processing technologies, as well as implementing safeguards against manipulation and disinformation, particularly with the rise of generative AI.
“If these mechanisms are not addressed in an integrated way, we risk creating a legal framework that is formally aligned with the EU but practically unenforceable,” Thaçi added.
Challenges in combating disinformation
Photo: BIRN Kosovo
Like public institutions, media organisations in Kosovo face serious challenges because of their vulnerability to disinformation.
These gaps are mostly evident in the fight against disinformation. Weak media transparency, unclear ownership structures, and limited institutional coordination give space for harmful content to spread across both traditional and digital platforms.
A BIRN Kosovo and Internews Kosova report published on March 27, highlighted that Russian state-backed media have flooded Kosovo’s information space amid weak institutional capacity to respond.
Additionally, a legal analysis included in the study finds that Kosovo lacks a comprehensive strategy to prevent disinformation and has no specific regulation governing online media, emphasising that the legislation is not fully aligned with EU directives.
At the report launch on Friday, Labinot Leposhtica, legal officer at BIRN, pointed to gaps in transparency, particularly regarding state advertising and media revenues.
“We have identified that revenues declared by the media to the Independent Media Commission and the Tax Administration lack clear breakdowns showing the origin of these funds,” Leposhtica said, adding that, “in the EU context, we are significantly behind on this issue.”
According to him, transparency in media financing, ownership, and advertising is essential to ensure that the information consumed by the public is not compromised. “These regulations are aimed at safeguarding information integrity, not censorship.”
BIRN analysis notes that Kosovo’s legislation must also be harmonised with the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, AVMSD, to ensure regulatory independence and standardisation of commercial communications, as well as with the EU AI Act to address technologically generated disinformation.
Currently, Kosovo operates with a fragmented transparency system that provides only an administrative overview without revealing the true structures of control and economic interests behind media outlets.
“While the Digital Services Act, DSA, requires mechanisms to address disinformation and the appointment of a Digital Services Coordinator to regulate online platforms, such oversight remains ineffective without identifying the real ‘beneficial owners’ of media organizations,” the report notes.
Without this transparency, Kosovo’s institutions cannot build effective communication with global platforms such as Meta or TikTok to identify hybrid attacks, as there is no clear point of editorial accountability.
Institutional responsibilities in Kosovo are fragmented also, as there is a lack of clear communication with social media platforms. Cooperation with regional countries-where some platforms spreading disinformation about Kosovo are based-also remains a challenge.
Additional challenges exist in managing official communication channels. Kosovo lacks a legal framework regulating the presence of public institutions on social media platforms such as Facebook and TikTok, resulting in inconsistent and unstandardised online communication.
Due to limited participation in international mechanisms, Kosovo does not have its own URL country code, and some online platforms operate through addresses outside the country.
There is also no centralised mechanism to collect and assess harmful content domestically.
“Court procedures for handling such cases are often slow and ineffective, which prolongs responses to disinformation,” BIRN analysis highlights.