UM: Discard the disputed provisions of media laws

UM

United Media cautions that the adoption of media laws that facilitate the return to state ownership of media would constitute a precedent that would further degrade the already poor state of media freedoms in Serbia and have a detrimental effect on media pluralism and market competition.

One of the most detrimental changes that the Information and Telecommunications Ministry added just before the very end of the work done on the draft law – without the consent of the Working Group members from the media coalition, and without a rational explanation, runs counter to the laws adopted in the past 15 and more years, including the one in effect.

To clarify: the media that were founded by Telekom Serbia, as an operator majority-owned by the state, in violation of the laws in effect, would now be legalized.

In view of the above, we propose that the disputed provisions of Article 39 of the Draft Law on Public Information and Media, and of Article 91 of the Draft Law on Electronic Media be amended to retain and implement the current ban on direct and indirect ownership of media by the state, including a ban on Telekom Serbia founding media publishers.

We believe that the adoption of this article would formalize the ongoing illegal status of some media outlets that are still indirectly owned by the state and where the state is enabled to control the media sector and dominate in creating the narrative that is publicly promoted.

United Media is a company that owns over 120 media outlets in eight Southeast European countries. As a stakeholder, it actively participated in the public debate, and our experts provided comments to both draft media laws.

Such serious changes to the media laws that deteriorate the situation in the media sector, and which give the state an additional mechanism of control over the media, should not be adopted in a country that aspires to be a member of the European Union, which strives to be democratic. The media are a symbol of a democratic society, not a tool in the hands of party officials to be used to ensure their stay in power.