On March 31, 2023, the law “On Media” entered into force, which launched the expected reform in the media sphere. Specialists hope that such a law will create a competitive media market with clear rules.
This is an important step on the way to EU integration, as the law on media brings the legislation in this area into line with the EU Directive on audiovisual media services, which is one of the 7 recommendations of the European Commission, which Ukraine received with the status of a candidate for EU membership.
According to the conclusions of the experts of the Council of Europe, the law is generally in line with the EU Directive on audiovisual media services, but still contains some inconsistencies that need to be corrected.
In particular, the law does not include signs of linguistic hostility, which is not allowed according to 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
In addition, restrictions on the timing of 16+ films only come into effect a year after the law is passed, which does not meet the standards of the Convention on Transfrontier Broadcasting.
Experts also identified two issues that cause concern.
First, the law does not specify why there may be exceptions to the disclosure of the reasons for which a person was included in the “prohibited list”, if all reasons are clearly stated in Art. 126 of the Law.
Secondly, experts believe that persons who are already on this “prohibited list” should be re-evaluated, as their inclusion in it is a serious restriction of freedom of expression.
In addition, experts emphasize the need to introduce some more amendments. In particular, they recommend expanding the definition of “journalist” to include self-employed journalists who are not affiliated with a media organization or union.
Therefore, it is possible that certain changes and additions to the law will be adopted in the near future.
In any case, the adoption of this law brings the legislation of Ukraine closer to the legislation of the European Union in the field of media and is an important step on the way to European integration.