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New Law on Media will benefit online media not harm them, says co-author

December 12 – While appearing on the joint telethon, Yevheniia Kravchuk, deputy head of the Parliamentary Committee of Humanitarian and Information Policy, and co-author of the Law on Media, addressed what she called “misconceptions” about the new legislation.

Kravchuk said that online media will have the option to officially register as media outlets and the registration will provide legal protection and other benefits.

The National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine will not be able to ban media without a court decision. However, online media that do not register (but which are transparent about the owner) may be banned for up to two weeks for infractions of the media law. Anonymous media with no identified owners or journalists may be banned for longer. Media could be sanctioned only after violating Ukrainian legislation (e.g., calls for invasion of another country) and for not responding to the National Council’s remarks within a month. Kravchuk said content critical of current authorities is allowed.

More on Detector Media in Ukrainian.

Photo: Andrii Dubchak, Radio Free Liberty