SJC: 'Amendments to broadcasting law in Georgia are targeting media'
Georgia’s broadcasting law amendments
According to the Social Justice Center (SJC), three draft amendments to the “Broadcasting Law” introduced in Georgia at the end of February by the Georgian Dream party raise concerns and are aimed at the media.
Specifically, the SJC emphasizes that two of the draft laws target media freedom, freedom of speech, expression of opinions, and association, while the third draft is aimed at the right to equality and the prohibition of discrimination.
The SJC predicts that these amendments will be used to suppress and repress critically-minded media outlets.
On February 24, amendments to the “Broadcasting Law” were initiated at a session of the Georgian Parliament’s single-party bureau, clearly aimed at restricting media activities and introducing censorship.
The amendments plan to prohibit broadcasters from receiving direct or indirect funding from abroad, whether in the form of monetary funds or other material benefits of property value (except for commercial advertising, teleshopping, sponsorship, and product placement).
The first draft law contains provisions regarding television and radio broadcasting standards.
“This draft law presents a significant threat to editorial independence of broadcasters, freedom of speech, and expression of opinions, as the content and scope of many of its provisions are unclear, making it impossible to predict how they will be interpreted by regulatory authorities,” the SJC writes in its statement.
Regarding the second draft law, which prohibits broadcasters from receiving foreign funding, the SJC believes this is an unjustified restriction on the freedom of association and expression of opinions in accordance with international human rights law:
“This ban serves no legitimate purpose. It does not protect any public interests or goods. On the contrary, this ban limits the ability of the public to access alternative information and counters the possibility of forming public opinion on critically important issues.”
The organization explains that this objective is evident from the explanatory note to the draft law, which states that “the information disseminated by broadcasters has a high degree of credibility and can have a significant impact on the formation of public opinion, therefore it is necessary to limit, through legislation, broadcasters’ receipt of funding from foreign states.
“According to representatives of critically-minded TV channels, the share of foreign funding in their income is currently small. However, against the backdrop of increased repression by the government, foreign funding may become an important source for maintaining their operational viability.
Along with other restrictions, establishing barriers for media broadcasters in this area clearly demonstrates the Georgian Dream party’s attempt to weaken and limit critically-minded media outlets, whose activities shed light on the dire situation in the country and mass human rights violations,” the SJC statement reads.
Finally, under the amendments initiated by the third draft law, the words “gender,” “gender identity,” and “gender diversity” should be excluded from the “Broadcasting Law.” Moreover, these amendments effectively allow broadcasters to air materials that incite hatred based on gender or gender identity.
According to the current version of the “Broadcasting Law,” broadcasters are prohibited from airing any programs or advertisements that incite violence or hatred against a person or group based on disability, ethnic or social origin, gender, sex, gender identity, nationality, race, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation, skin color, genetic traits, language, political or other views, belonging to a national minority, property status, place of birth, or age.
The proposed amendments would exclude the terms “gender” and “gender identity” from this provision, meaning that, for example, it would be permissible to broadcast programs inciting hatred based on gender or gender identity.
“Against the backdrop of strengthening authoritarian rule in the country, the collapse of state institutions, and widespread human rights violations, the existence of free spaces, beyond government control, takes on special significance. One such example of this space is critical media, which, despite numerous obstacles, expose crimes committed by the government, large-scale repression, and gross human rights violations.
The ruling party’s initiatives against the media demonstrate that the government is attempting to increase pressure on critically-minded media and suppress the remaining free spaces in the country to further solidify its authoritarian power,” the SJC concludes.
