President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the law “On Media”, which in a few months will begin to change the rules of the game in the media market, writes SUG.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the controversial bill “On Media”, which expands the powers of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting and will change the rules of the game in the media market.
Voluntary Registration for Websites and Newspapers and Online Under the Cap of the National Council The law introduces the concept of online media into the legislative field and provides that websites and newspapers can register voluntarily. At the same time, those newspapers that have already registered, in order to continue to remain in the status of registered ones, must, within a year after the entry into force of the law, i.e. until March 31, 2024, re-register. Otherwise, they can continue to work, but already as unregistered media.
In order to register online media and newspapers, they must submit an application to the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting in the form established by the regulator and radio broadcasting and indicate the following information in it: 1) for a legal entity:
a) identification data;
b) the address at which editorial control is carried out, if it does not match the address of the location (for subjects in the field of audiovisual, print and online media);
c) contact details (telephone , email address);
d) last name, first name and patronymic of the head of the legal entity
ґ) the ultimate beneficial owner (if any)
If the site plans to register as an individual entrepreneur, then the following information should be indicated in the application: a) identification data;
b) place of registration or provision of the service, contact details (phone number, e-mail address)
Also, sites that want to register will have to disclose the Internet addresses where the media is available on the network, and newspapers; name, type, frequency of release.
The possibility of voluntary registration of bloggers is also provided. The authors of the document assure that only upon registration they will fall under the regulation of the National Council. At the same time, the law leaves a loophole for regulation through the decision of the co-regulation body, which will be created with the participation of the media and representatives of the National Council.
The advantage of online media registration is less severe sanctions for similar violations compared to unregistered media and the opportunity to receive a grant from the state. However, financial operations of online media are more likely to fall under the additional monitoring of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting.
New media law: The National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting becomes a regulator for online media
In practice, this means the possibility, in particular, for the regulator to come with checks. An inspection may, in particular, be ordered due to: 1) failure to provide, untimely provision or submission of false and/or incomplete information. It is especially interesting in this context who will determine the untimeliness of the presentation; 2) receipts from individuals, state bodies, legal entities, local governments, indicating a violation of the license. Based on the results of the check, the regulator makes a decision on sanctions against the media or does not make any decision
Ban media with Russian owners and close sanctioned media without a court decision
The signed law determines that in the event that among the owners of existing media, persons connected with the Russian Federation are found, the registration of such media is canceled by the National Council.
The procedure for canceling the license of sub-sanctioned media has also been simplified. Now this can be done by the decision of the National Council. The current legislation stipulated that the cancellation of a license occurs exclusively by a court decision.
For comparison, before the entry into force of the law on media, the cancellation of licenses occurs only on the basis of a court decision.
Sanctions, closure without a court decision, trials in two days and media amnesty
The law generally provides for the differentiation of sanctions between registered and unregistered media. In particular, registered media can be fined for five minor violations committed within a month, while unregistered media can be fined for 3 violations.
A court-ordered distribution ban for unregistered online media may come after the third gross violation, while for a registered media it is 4 violations. A gross violation will be considered the dissemination of information about the war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation as a civil conflict
In addition, the legislator granted the National Council the right to issue a ban on the temporary distribution of sites, that is, the ability to close them. The authors assure that only unregistered mass media should be closed without trial. Indeed, article 116 of the law on media determines that an unregistered site can be closed if it was fined 5 times within a month for significant violations (dissemination of information degrading the state language, refusal to conduct an audit by the National Council, etc.), provided that these fines has not been cancelled. At the same time, the law does not clearly prescribe the procedure for applying the sanction, which will potentially tempt the National Council to abuse sanctions tools. Also, among the sanctions that remain at the disposal of the National Council, there are fines.
Another novelty of the law was the possibility of considering cases against the media in court within 2 days. It is noted that accelerated trials against the media will take place only if there is a threat to national security and in order to prevent riots. Whether this rule will really be applied in exceptional cases, time will tell.
At the same time, the transitional provisions of the document establish that within a year after the entry into force of the law, i.e. Until the end of March 2024, the National Council will issue only orders for most violations, that is, without penalties and judicial and extrajudicial restrictions. The amnesty will not apply to violations related to “the dissemination of unreliable materials on armed aggression and the actions of the aggressor state (occupier state), its officials, persons and organizations controlled by the aggressor state (occupier state), if this results in calls to violent change, overthrow of the constitutional order or violation of territorial integrity, incitement of enmity or hatred.”
New law on media: Joint regulation in the field of media
Another innovation of the document is joint regulation in the field of media with the participation of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting and elected representatives of the media sphere.
The creation of co-registration bodies is envisaged with the participation of media workers and representatives of the National Council
For membership in a joint regulatory body, membership fees will have to be paid, the amount of which will be determined by the board of the joint regulatory body. Media professionals who have been on the market for less than 3 years cannot be a member of the joint regulatory body. However, the issue of admitting new members to the joint regulatory body will be decided by its board.
The powers of the joint regulatory body include the development of codes (rules) for the dissemination of information . They must be approved by the National Council. That is, theoretically, the co-regulation body influences the issuance of fines and other sanctions against the media. However, the law allows you to ignore the operating time of the body. Also, the National Council can act with other developments on media regulation issues. That is, to multiply by zero the very idea of co-regulation.
Yaroslav Konoshchuk
The Verkhovna Rada is preparing to radically change the lives of some “bloggers”
National Police without waiting for the “Borodyansky Law” blocks websites
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine said that the law on media could “cast the shadow of a dictator on Zelensky”
The draft law “On Media”: a set of risks and opportunities