New media and the Language Charter: Protecting regional or minority languages in the digital age.

The article examines whether the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (the Charter), originally drafted in the 1990s with provisions focused on traditional media, remains effective in protecting endangered regional and minority languages amid the rise of new digital media. Based on recent monitoring reports by the Charter’s Committee of Experts (COMEX), it concludes that the Charter’s flexible framework can encompass new media forms—such as online radio, television, social media, and podcasts—as part of States Parties’ obligations under Article 11, which addresses media use in protected languages. However, COMEX emphasizes that new media must be accessible and suitable to the demographic and technological capacities of language communities, advocating for an additive approach where new media complement rather than replace traditional broadcasting. Thus, the Charter continues to support language protection in the digital age by integrating both traditional and new media platforms.