Tens of thousands of Poles protest against the new law on TV and radio broadcasting | News from Germany about Europe | Dw

Tens of thousands of people in Poland went to protest against the controversial law on television and radio broadcasting adopted by the Seimas. On Sunday, December 19, in Warsaw, demonstrators gathered in front of the presidential palace. On their posters, in particular, there were slogans: “Free media, free people, free Poland” and “We have the right to truth.”

Protests also took place in Gdansk, Szczecin, Poznan, Krakow and many other cities. The organizers and the police did not provide information on the exact number of participants.

On December 17, the Polish Seim adopted a bill submitted by the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice Party (ZiS). To enter into force, the document must be signed by President Andrzej Duda. Earlier, he was skeptical about the legislative initiative.

Criticism in the USA

The document drew, among other things, criticism in the United States. The State Department in Washington said it was “deeply concerned” about provisions that “could undermine freedom of opinion, weaken media freedom and shake the confidence of foreign investors.” The US called on Dudu to defend constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights and freedoms.

The bill assumes that broadcasting licenses in Poland will be issued to foreign companies only if they have headquarters or a representative office in the European Economic Area (EEA). In addition, the licensee must not be dependent on companies headquartered outside this zone. From now on, they can own no more than 49 percent of the shares in Polish media.

The main victim may be a television company owned by an American concern

According to a number of experts, the main victim of the changes may be TVN, a television company owned by the American Discovery concern, which ran it through the Dutch-registered company Polish Television Holding BV. The new law, inter alia, stipulates that majority ownership of media outlets located in Poland is prohibited by companies located in the EEA but controlled by firms outside it.

ZiS already controls the Polish public television (Telewizja Polska) and most of the regional press. Since the Conservatives have been in power, Poland has dropped 46 positions in the annual Press Freedom Index.

See also:

• Reporters Without Borders rating of countries: no place for freedom of speech

  Vietnam, 175th: Arrested for criticizing the regime

  There are no independent media outlets in Vietnam. The sole ruling Communist Party dictates to journalists how and what to write about. Most of the publishers, editors and journalists themselves are members of the Communist Party. Recently, bloggers have been increasingly in the spotlight of the authorities. Those who challenge the communist monopoly on the right to express their opinion are being silenced by arrests.

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  Reporters Without Borders rating of countries: no place for freedom of speech

  China, 176th place: a territory of no freedom

  According to Reporters Without Borders, China can be called the largest open-air prison for bloggers and journalists. The PRC authorities exert massive pressure on dissidents, including employees of foreign media. Entire areas of China remain closed to them, their work is censored, and interviewees and interview partners are often imprisoned.

• 

  Reporters Without Borders rating of countries: no place for freedom of speech

  Syria, 177th place: under the bullets

  Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, numerous media representatives have been persecuted and killed. For several years now, Reporters Without Borders has ranked Bashar al-Assad’s regime as an enemy of press freedom. However, both the radical group Al-Nusra Front, opposing Assad, and the militants of the so-called Islamic State are killing, kidnapping and blackmailing journalists.

• 

  Reporters Without Borders rating of countries: no place for freedom of speech

  Turkmenistan, 178th place: imaginary independence

  President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov owns all media in the country. The only exception is the “Rysgal” newspaper, but its publishers must also agree on each issue. After the law “on media” was passed in the country in 2013, declaring freedom of the media and the inadmissibility of censorship, the population gained access to foreign media. However, the Internet is also controlled by the government.

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  Reporters Without Borders rating of countries: no place for freedom of speech

  North Korea, 179th place: the dictator dictates the rules

  There is no freedom of the press in North Korea either. The DPRK leadership, headed by Kim Jong-un (pictured), controls everything that local newspapers and magazines write. TV and radio receivers of the population are tuned exclusively to state broadcasters. Anyone who dares to express an opinion that differs from the opinion of the party ends up in the so-called “re-education labor camps” – along with all family members.

• 

  Reporters Without Borders rating of countries: no place for freedom of speech

  Eritrea, 180th place: DPRK in African style

  Reporters Without Borders ranked Eritrea last in the press freedom rankings. According to human rights activists, the worst regime for the media operates in this country. Due to persecution and harassment, many journalists are forced to leave their homeland. The population of Eritrea can learn about the real situation in the country only through Radio Erena, which hangs from Paris.

  Author: Sabrina Pabst, Grigory Arosev

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