The Council of Europe transmitted its Expert Opinion on the Draft Law supplementing the Audiovisual Code of the Republic of Moldova and the Draft Law amending and supplementing the Audiovisual Code of the Republic of Moldova. Council of Europe Expert Bisera Zankova identified vague and restrictive provisions that may easily amount to censorship and noted that hate and false speech is best counteracted by more speech, IPN reports.
The draft laws were submitted to the Council of Europe for appraisal on June 27. The Expert Opinion says the the protection of freedom of expression and freedom of broadcasting as provided by the Council of Europe instruments and particularly by the ECHR and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights has to be unconditional. With regard to this, proposals have to be better designed taking in-depth account of a range of human rights principles and criteria. It has to be clear that vague and restrictive provisions may easily amount to censorship and that hate and false speech is best counteracted by more speech, by pluralism of views, an open debate and a clear position.
Bisera Zankova says local production of audiovisual works has to be strengthened and a system of measures has to be put in force for its promotion and support. Sanctions have to be better systematized and be proportionate to the offence. It is necessary for procedural guarantees for the right of the broadcasters to fair hearing and due process to be put in place.
Two proposals for amendments to the Audiovisual Code of the Republic of Moldova have been put forward by members of the Moldovan Parliament. They treat one and the same matter in a more or a less detailed manner – broadcasting and re-broadcasting of foreign programs, broadcasting of information and analytical programs and domestic shares of such programs, local audiovisual production and sanctions.
A reason for the amendments, as stated in the explanatory notes attached to the drafts, pertains to the current situation in the country and more specifically to the propaganda war launched on Moldova by Russia.
The proposed draft laws introduce norms regarding the ensuring the state’s information security by strengthening the powers of the Broadcasting Coordination Council. They ban foreign propaganda through information and analytical programs, increase the domestic share of such programs and of programs broadcast in the official language for Moldovan broadcasters, and ban public media outlets from broadcasting commercial advertisements.
