Yurchyshyn: Draft bill No. 10242 added to Verkhovna Rada agenda without consultations

The Verkhovna Rada has added draft bill No. 10242, which poses significant threats to freedom of speech, the work of journalists, the protection of journalists' sources and corruption whistleblowers in Ukraine, to their agenda.

Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Holos deputy and the chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, reported this and shared details in a comment to the Institute of Mass Information representative Valentyna Troyan.

He says that the draft bill was put on the agenda without consultations despite the Freedom of Speech Committee having submitted a list of editors and media experts who would be proposed as advisors at the meeting.

“The majority representatives did not respond to our proposal, as the Committee on Freedom of Speech, to hold consultations with journalists and media experts. By doing so, they implicitly confirmed that the draft bill is only needed to make investigators unable to ask uncomfortable questions about abuses of authority. If the goal is to boost the registers security, then such a mechanism can definitely be found. By working together,” said Yaroslav Yurchyshyn.

He noted that he would submit all the amendments they proposed for approval together with deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak and his fellow Holos members.

In a comment to the Institute of Mass Information representative Valentyna Troyan, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn clarified that he had been in talks with the Ministry of Justice in late 2024. “We sent them a list of editors and media experts who would be proposed for approval at the meeting. And after that, no updates,” Yurchyshyn added.

Previously

On December 2, 2024, the Media Movement, as well as Ukraine's media and human rights NGOs called on the Verkhovna Rada deputies to not support the draft bill No. 10242 in its current version.

The draft bill expands and introduces criminal liability (8 years in prison) for publicly disclosing confidential data from public registers during martial law. At the same time, the draft bill provides no protection mechanisms for those who report on confidential data of public interest.

The authors of the address believe that the draft bill creates a tool that may be exploited to persecute journalists. Namely, it enables wiretapping and surveillance of journalists by the government.

The Verkhovna Rada failed to adopt the draft bill No. 10242 on December 4.

On December 17, the Media Movement, as well as Ukraine's media and human rights NGOs, repeated their call to deputies not to adopt bill No. 10242.