Ukraine: New media law sparks division.

"Some say Ukraine's new media law will combat Russian disinformation, others denounce an affront to freedom of the press.

A new Ukrainian media law expanding the powers of the nation’s media regulator has sparked a heated debate. Some say it will combat Russian disinformation, others denounce it as censorship.

The law “On Media”- first presented by President Zelenskyy in 2019 - came into force on 31 March. Ukraine’s media standards previously revolved around six media laws which have remained largely unreformed since 1991. Media reform is a key requirement which Ukraine must fulfil as an official EU candidate state.

What does the bill do?
The decree imposes stringent transparency standards, pushing media outlets to disclose clear information on their stakeholders and owners.

“This is a positive move towards limiting the influence of stakeholders and owners on editorial independence,” Marianna Perebenesiuk, Ukraine project lead for Reporters Sans Frontières, told Euronews.

Lawmakers have also claimed the bill will facilitate the battle against Russian disinformation.

The regulator also holds the power to block both state-registered and unregistered online media after multiple violation notices. Critics of the measure include international journalists’ unions - such as the European Federation of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists - as well as national unions.

I am doubtful as to how the National Council for Television and Radio will maintain political independence, given that the body has been handed unprecedented powers in the field of media regulation.
Dr. Serhiy Shturkhetskyy
Chairman, Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine
Reception in Ukraine
A month after the law came into effect, is it working as expected?

Dr. Serhiy Shturkhetskyy, chairman of Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine thinks not.

“I am doubtful as to how the National Council for Television and Radio will maintain political independence, given that the body has been handed unprecedented powers in the field of media regulation,” he said in an interview with Euronews.

Half of the members of the state media regulatory body are appointed by the Ukrainian President and the other half by Parliament. The fact that President Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party currently commands a Parliamentary majority has been posited as a further obstacle to the regulator’s independence.

However, certain platforms welcomed the law.

“I am glad that the war did not halt the process of passing the law,” said Galina Petrenko, director of Detector Media, a media watchdog and NGO. Detector Media has moved swiftly to begin registering its activities.

Edging towards European integration
The European Commission welcomed the passing of the law, stating that the reform aligns with the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Ukraine formally applied for membership to the European Union in February 2022, four days after Russia’s full-scale invasion. The nation was granted formal candidate status in June of that year.

European Commission spokesperson, Ana Pisonero Hernandez, told Euronews: “The Council of Europe and Commission provided a series of recommendations to Ukrainian authorities which they took into account - in order to implement progress and ensure the independence of the media regulator.”

Over 282 pages of amendments have been made to the 2019 draft law.
Nevertheless, the Commission also underlined that “some media aspects of the law still need to be addressed”, in order to ensure “economic competitiveness in the media sphere, as well as media freedom and pluralism”.

Opponents of the law denounce the use of European integration as a bargaining chip used to forcefully push through the law.

“If you are against this law, you are presented as being against European integration”, said Dr. Serhiy Shturkhetskyy, chairman of the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine.

He underlined that opposition to the law does not equate to hostility to Europe, adding “much of the media community wishes to join the European community”" - By Estelle Nilsson-Julien & Ilaria Federico - Euronews (03/05/2023).

"Ukraine: IFJ calls on the government to revise new media law:
President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed into law a controversial bill that expands the government's power to control the media, endangering press freedom and media pluralism in the country. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its Ukrainian affiliates, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU), in calling on the government to revise the new legislation and to start a broad inclusive dialogue with journalists’ unions and the media sector.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on January 11, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Credit: Yuriy Dyachyshyn / AFP

Media freedom and pluralism are at stake in Ukraine under the law ‘On Media’, submitted to the Parliament in 2020 and approved on 13 December 2022, which increases government control of information. The law empowers the regulator, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council, whose members are appointed by the President and the Parliament, with a broader authority over the Ukrainian media landscape.

According to the recently passed legislation, signed in to law by Zelensky on 29 December, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council will be able to temporarily ban the work of online mass media and demand internet providers block access to online publications without a court hearing, issue binding orders to the editorial offices of media, regulate the work of cable and online television operators, and cancel the registration of print media, among others.

In July 2022 when Ukraine was granted the status of an EU candidate country, the IFJ affiliates, NUJU and IMTUU, together with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), called on the Ukrainian authorities to bring the draft media legislation in line with European standards of press freedom.

A statement published by NUJU on 13 December warned that freedom of speech was under threat in Ukraine and branded as “excessive” the broader power given to the national regulator. The union said that “the law does not envisage the regulation of the media sphere, but in fact, the establishment of relations of subordination, when the media become under the control of the authorities.”

In a statement issued in early January, IMTUU warned that the law does not contain restrictions on the creation of linear media services by the state, allowing the monopolisation of airwaves with content created exclusively by state-owned media. “This actual state of affairs does not contribute to limiting the political influence of the pro-government political force on the media and contradicts the principle of pluralism, which will create systemic problems with democracy.”

In addition, the union noted that, according to the law, the cancellation of licences and the banning of media activities can take place without a decision of the regulator and the court, which “nullifies the role of the regulator and puts media owners in full political and economic dependence on the personal decisions of the country's president, which will create problems for democracy,” it added.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger warned that the law will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression. “We are extremely concerned about the authoritarian drift of the Ukrainian government towards the media and journalists. While the new legislation is intended to implement the European Directive, it could create systemic problems for democracy in Ukraine as it expands state control over the media,”Bellanger stated.

“We are calling on the government to rewrite the law, and open a discussion with journalists’ organisations and the media. There cannot be a democracy without independent journalism,” he added.

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries".

(12 January 2023)