Today, the deputies of the House of Representatives passed in the first reading the bill to amend the law on mass media. The document was developed in accordance with the updated Constitution of Belarus and, as noted Information Minister Vladimir Pertsov, taking into account global geopolitical changes, new economic and technological realities, challenges and threats.
The bill provides for the introduction of a mechanism of symmetrical measures against foreign media that operate in the country, if the unfriendly actions of foreign states in relation to the media of our country are confirmed. It is also planned to regulate the specifics of the functioning of news aggregators and the legal status of their owner.
In order to protect the rights of citizens against unlawful manifestations it is proposed to prohibit dissemination of results of opinion polls related to political situation in the country, national referendum, presidential, delegates, deputies and senators elections held without obtaining relevant accreditation. The bill would also expand the list of grounds for revocation of state registration certificates of the media and for limiting access to Internet resources, online publications and news aggregators.
Liliya Ananich, Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus:
According to the notification of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is proposed that the Ministry of Information will take decisions symmetrical to similar actions of unfriendly countries with regard to those accredited with us. Exactly the same procedure will be in place with regard to the cancellation of such prohibitive measures, if followed by such from neighboring states. These are not new norms, they are also in force in the Russian information space. We must fully ensure our national interests.
Belarus is open for foreign mass media that observe the requirements of the law
In Belarus there are 955 registered print media, 189 TV and radio broadcasting, 7 news agencies and 43 network publications, said Vladimir Pertsov. The Belarusian information space remains open for foreign media that follow the legislation of the Republic of Belarus. We have 1,786 foreign newspapers and magazines and over 225 foreign TV channels.
