Committee on humanitarian policy recommended to adopt media bill as basis
The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy has recommended the MPs to adopt as a basis the bill No. 2693 “On Media”, “Detector Media” reported.
Nine members of the Committee voted in favor, three members opposed did against (representatives of the “Opposition Platform - For Life”), three members abstained (representatives of the European Solidarity).
An alternative Bill No. 2693-1 will also be submitted to the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada.
“Opposition Platform - For Life” failed to prepare their alternative project. Committee member Yuriy Pavlenko said it and proposed to submit both projects for further elaboration.
The Committee Chairman Oleksandr Tkachenko said that project # 2693 would be submitted for examination to the Council of Europe. Representatives of the public society asked to give them floor, but Tkachenko said public discussion would take place next week.
"This law on freedom of speech, it regulates the media industry, in particular online media, which have not been regulated before," Tkachenko stressed.
It should be reminded that on December 27, 2019 a group of MPs registered a bill # 2693 on mass media. The bill was drafted by members of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko, Mykyta Poturayev, Yevgeniya Kravchuk, Iryna Konstankevych, Oleksandr Kabanov, Andrii Boblyakh, Yelyzaveta Bogutska, Tetiana Tyabukha, Pavlo Sushko, Dmitro Nalyotov, and member of the Committee of Freedom of Speech Tetyana Tsyba.
The new legislative act should become a comprehensive document that will replace several media laws: on television and radio broadcasting, printed press in Ukraine, news agencies, National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting, state support for mass media and social protection of journalists, about the procedure for coverage of activities of state and local self-government bodies in Ukraine by mass media.
The Center for Democracy and Rule of Law called on the parliamentary profile committee and parliament to hold efficacious discussion and to consider amendments to the media bill and to pass a quality law in the first half of 2020. The Ukrainian Internet Association (UIA) has suggested to the parliamentary committees to report out the draft law No. 2693 to its draftsmen for revision. UIA drew attention to a number of novelties of the bill, which, in the opinion of UIA experts, posed "significant threats not only to the mass media, but also at the domain of electronic communications of Ukraine".
On January 15, a group of MPs from the European Solidarity faction have registered an alternative media bill No. 2693-1
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