A group of MPs, including Mykyta Poturaiev, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn and Mykola Kniazhytskyi, registered draft law No. 12111, which provides for a number of amendments to the legislation on media activities.
The draft law proposes to clarify the registration and licensing procedures for the media, as well as to change the rules for appointing members of the National Council, guaranteeing their financial independence during the period of martial law.
In particular, it provides for the establishment of a ‘basic’ salary for members of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting at the level of 35 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons, which is UAH 105,980. The salary of the chairman of the National Council will be UAH 127,176, and that of his deputies and executive secretary will be UAH 116,578.
In addition, the authors of the draft law propose new legal mechanisms to protect Ukraine’s information space, including improved procedures for blocking media services and providers from the aggressor state.
The draft law also provides for a mechanism for the National Council to assess the compliance of online media content with the requirements of the law, in particular with regard to hate speech, discrimination and content originating from the aggressor state.
The amendments include:
- expanding the list of data that media entities must enter into the Register on their own;
- elimination of legal inconsistencies regarding tenders for the public broadcaster;
- mandatory registration of specialised print media;
- extending the period for consideration of registration applications to 60 days;
- providing extracts from the Register simultaneously with the regulator’s decision;
- development of recommendations on the use of artificial intelligence systems in the media;
- clarification of the articles on verification of ‘non-residents’;
- a requirement to conclude contracts for the supply of electronic communication services with broadcasters under standard terms and conditions.
