Lower house passes media amendments without much discussion

April 18, BPN. The National Assembly’s House of Representatives has passed amendments to the law “On Mass Media” after the first reading, the lower house’s press office reports.

According to the rationale presented by Information Minister Uładzimir Piarcoŭ and senior MP Lilija Ananič, the bill aims to “ensure citizens’ constitutional right to full and accurate information, protect state and public interests and national security in the field of mass information.”

The amendments provide for “defining news aggregators’ specifics and their owners’ legal status”; detailing requirements for the owners of online resources distributing TV and radio products; clarifying the procedure for foreign media activity in Belarus; enshrining possible “retaliatory measures” against foreign media and their reporters.

The bill would make it possible to introduce “symmetrical countermeasures against the unfriendly countries” that hinder the distribution of Belarusian media content, Ananič told the state media on April 18. “The suggestion is that, notified by the foreign ministry, the information ministry would make decisions similar to the unfriendly countries’ actions.”

Ananič first announced the amendments on Telegram on April 6. “If the media and internet resources are weapons, and they are, then the ‘ammunition’ and entire infrastructure must be prepared according to state-of-the-art legislation,” she wrote.

The previous amendments to the media law were passed in the spring of 2021. They expanded the list of content prohibited for dissemination: in particular, a ban was introduced on publishing the results of unauthorized opinion polls relating to the country’s socio-political situation.

That version of the law allowed the prosecutors to restrict access to internet media disseminating calls for “extremist” activity. It also gave officials the right to shut down media outlets after two warnings without going to court.

It banned foreign nationals and companies with foreign ownership from founding media.

After the 2020 presidential election, the government cracked down on the independent media in the country. Hundreds of journalists and dozens of newsrooms were forced to flee the country. Fourteen media outlets have been charged with involvement in extremism.