More changes will be required to the Russian Media Law than those currently being considered by the State Duma if they are to satisfy the country’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAT).
AKTR and Molurist report that the State Duma passed the first reading of amendments to the Media Law on February 22.
The first major proposed revision to the legislation since it was enacted in 1992, they cover electronic communications, digital and mobile TV and – crucially – all aspects of internet media.
Commenting on the current proposed amendments, NAT”s president Eduard Saaleyev said that the only positive elements they contained were a lengthening of electronic media licences from five to ten years and their widening to include direct broadcasting in all environments. In all other respects, they require “a serious and even conceptual revision”.
