O SEU: KPM bill not to have unjust restrictions and influence on media

The mission of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSBE) in Kosovo has said Tuesday that the Bill for the Independent Commission for Media (KPM), which aims to regulate online media, should avoid any inadequate restrictions on freedom of expression and any unfair influence on media content.

O The SB said the “welcomes the Government's goal of changing and completing the KPM Law in line with the European Union directive, to ensure “a more applicable framework for consumer protection, promoting cultural diversity and media pluralism”.

But, it stressed the importance of promoting a favourable “environment for internet media self-regulation based on principles of freedom, responsibility and respect of human rights and democratic values”.

The Association of Kosovo Journalists, the Council of Kosovo's Written Media, but also a group of international organisations have called on the Kosovo government to give up the changes to the law.

They have seen this legislation as “attack” on the media, voicing fears that the executive may use this law to censor the media.

O The SEU said that “any new legislation should ensure that it does not weaken the important role of the Media Council written in effective self-regulation, including in terms of media content on the internet”.

Early in the day, the European Union Office in Kosovo said changes to this legislation should be made in a way that will not have negative “impact” on media freedom.

The so-called Bill for the Independent Media Commission has been adopted by the government on December 27th last year, and has been sent for approval to the Kosovo Assembly.

The legislation envisions that online media, producing videos, should be recorded as business. With the changes, the KPM will have a mandate to monitor even online media work that produces audio-visual content.

Changes in legislation envision fines of up to 40,000 euros for media that commit various legal violations.

Currently, texts published in online media are monitored by the Kosovo Media Council. He does not fine the media for their mistakes, but makes decisions on complaints made to the media and then Council decisions can be used to file civil indictments against the media in Kosovo courts.

Meanwhile, the audio-visual content published in online media is not monitored by anyone. The Council of Written Media has said that in most cases published videos are accompanied by a text on the same subject and thus become their monitoring.

The European Commission's latest Progress Report said that “anment, currently under way, would have to further harmonise the Law with the Audio-Visual Media Services Guide to extend its competencies even to online audio-visual media”. / REL