The Information Policy Service of the Presidential Executive Office has submitted a draft of the new law on the mass media for public discussion.
The law drafters note that the current document is obsolete. Therefore, a new, up-to-date law is needed.
The authors prescribe that censorship in the media is prohibited.
The article of the document states that it is understood as a requirement on the part of officials, state bodies, local authorities, organizations, institutions or public associations to preliminarily coordinate messages and materials. Only the interviewee or the author themselves can demand to review the material before publication and make changes to it.
Meanwhile, the document notes that «the use of the right to freely express one’s opinion imposes special duties and special responsibilities.» So read the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Kyrgyzstan joined in 1994.
«It (use) may be subject to certain restrictions, which must be established by the law. The media should not disseminate information that violates the rights and discredits the reputation of others. It is also necessary to avoid publishing articles, notes, videos that undermine state security, public order, health or morals of the population,» the background statement says.
The authors propose to enshrine these restrictions on freedom of speech and the press in the current legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Moreover, it is not about introduction of censorship, but about the introduction of public control over what appears on the pages of the press, electronic media, and television screens.
From the background statement to the draft law on mass media
The law drafters emphasize that «the formula for freedom of the media, spelled out in the draft of the new law, links freedom of the media with freedom of thought and opinion, freedom of speech and the press, ideological and political diversity, freedom of economic activity, and diversity of forms of ownership.»
Legal regulation is also being introduced, giving them the status of mass media, and the entire conceptual apparatus of the current media law is being radically revised. The draft law defines such basic concepts as «mass media», «editorial office», «founder», «publisher» in a different way.
The legal mechanism for the establishment of mass media has been changed in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Code.
The legal institution of the media owner is being introduced. At the same time, the institution of the founder of the media is preserved, although in a greatly curtailed form. The authors note that it is impossible to abandon the institution of the founder, since the Civil Code provides that every legal entity must have a founder, who, as a rule, is its owner.
But such cases are also possible when the founder only creates the media, but cannot provide any funds for its maintenance. In this case, only the name of the resource should belong to him or her.
However, the owner cannot be considered as the absolute owner. Since journalism is not an entrepreneurial activity, but the fulfillment of a public duty, functions of a public service.
The media owner’s interference in editorial policy must be limited by law and the publisher’s (broadcaster’s) charter.
The adoption of the draft law will not require expenses from the republican budget, since it is aimed at replacing the current version.
