The bill on media ownership transparency will be adopted in the final reading next week, head of the Parliament’s commission on culture, research, sport and mass media Chiril Lucinschi assured in a press club meeting staged by the Independent Journalism Center, IPN reports.
The MP said that last week the commission approved the report on the bill with the proposed amendments. The final bill will be much more balanced and explicit. One of the amendments suggested by lawmakers stipulates that besides the documents provided by broadcasters, there will be required the copy of the identity card or any other identification paper of the owner or owners.
Elena Bedros, of the National Anticorruption Center, said the Center hasn’t yet endorsed the bill because they identified norms that run counter to the law on the protection of personal data. The amendment on the identity card is contradictory and is yet to be analyzed.
Attending the press club meeting, analyst Vasile Nastase said the real owners of media outlets may hide behind third persons who will be indicated in documents only. This law will not be efficient if it does not contain a provision allowing the authorities to check the origin of the financial resources of the declared owners.
Journalist Angela Arama said that if this bill is aimed at demonopolizing the mass media market, Article 66 of the Broadcasting Code that allows pirate individuals to own several broadcasters should be amended so that this number is limited.
The bill on media ownership transparency obliges the media outlets to make public the name of the owner or owners, including the shareholdings they own in the registered capital, the list of members of the board and the name of the administrator. It was passed by Parliament in the first reading in July.
