President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed the Law on Mass Media. The press service of the head of state reported.
The purpose of the law is to modernize the legal framework in the field of mass media taking into account the digital age. However, a number of innovations have already raised concerns among the journalistic community and human rights activists.
According to the new version of the law, not only traditional media, but also Internet platforms, including websites and blogs, are subject to mandatory registration. The possibility of voluntary registration of online resources was previously discussed, but in the final version, the norm became mandatory. The resource is considered registered from the moment it is included into the register by the Ministry of Justice.
The law also limits the participation of foreigners: foreign citizens and legal entities, as well as companies with foreign participation, cannot own more than 35 percent of shares or stocks of the media founders. This rule applies to television and radio, as well as print and online media outlets.
The document stipulates that the activities of the media can be suspended or terminated only by a court decision or by the founders themselves. This provision is aimed at protecting against arbitrary restrictions, but at the same time the grounds for issuing warnings have been expanded, including for publications containing signs of calls for the violent seizure of power. If violations are repeated within a year, administrative liability is possible.
The law also introduces specific deadlines for government agencies to respond to journalistic inquiries — three working days or up to 14 days if additional information processing is necessary. In case of refusal to provide information, the media must receive a written justification.
In addition, the document formalizes the concepts of «online media outlet», «editorial policy», «public interest», which, according to the law drafters, will bring the regulation closer to modern international standards.
The law directly prohibits censorship and any interference by officials or founders in editorial policy, and also guarantees the right of journalists not to disclose the source of information, except in cases where this is required by the court as part of the case under investigation.
The document comes into force on the day of official publication.
On June 25, the deputies of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan adopted the bill «On Mass Media». This version of the draft law tightens requirements for the media. These norms were included in the document by individual deputies during the discussion of the bill.
Earlier, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on President Sadyr Japarov to veto the new law. A number of journalists, media experts, and lawyers who are members of the working group on finalizing the draft law, appealed to the authorities to leave the sixth version of the bill in its original form, excluding the amendments made by the deputies.
