MFRR partners write letter of concern to Albanian government regarding the plan to amend the country's audio visual laws

Gavin.Rea

16 September 2020

No Comments

mfrr logo

Dear Chairperson of the Parliament, Mr Gramoz Ruçi,

 

Dear Honourable Members of Parliament,

 

We are writing to express our grave concern about the apparent plans of the Parliament of Albania to ignore the issues raised in Venice Commission Opinion No. 980/2020 of 19 June 2020, further threatening press freedom and the right to freedom of expression and to information in Albania.

 

The undersigned organisations, including partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response, are alarmed by reports that the Parliament plans to reconsider the Amendments to Law No. 97/2013 ‘on Audio Visual Media in the Republic of Albania’ on the basis of article 86 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, which prescribes that the Parliament considers only the issues introduced by the President of the Republic. Consequently, the Assembly would ignore the problems raised in the aforementioned Opinion of the Venice Commission and by domestic and international civil society organisations.

 

In this regard, we reiterate our serious concern that the amendments in their current form fall short of international law and standards. As noted also by the Venice Commission, the legislative proposals suffer from vagueness and have a number of fundamental flaws, including:

  • An overly broad scope of application that may include individual bloggers and social media users;
  • Requiring de-anonymisation of all Albanian online media resources, which is especially problematic in light of the overly broad scope of application;
  • Entrusting weighty administrative powers to the Albanian Media Authority and the Complaints Committee, without first ensuring that these institutions are sufficiently independent; and,
  • A lack of adequate procedural safeguards in the complaints procedure.

As such, the proposed amendments risk causing a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression online and restricting Albanian citizens’ right to access to information.

 

We share the opinion of the Venice Commission and 15 Albanian civil society organisations that the problem of malicious or irresponsible media behaviour on the internet would be more appropriately tackled through the establishment of an independent self-regulatory body, which involves all stakeholders in the media community and is empowered to ensure an effective and well-respected system of media accountability.

 

Accordingly, we urge you to rethink the current legislative procedure and instead put in place a transparent process that leads to appropriate legislation that addresses all the Venice Commission’s recommendations, and to include civil society and representatives of the media throughout this process. We fear that pushing ahead with these amendments in blatant disregard of the important issues raised by the Venice Commission will further damage hopes of progress on press freedom and undermine Albania’s pursuit of EU accession.

Signed

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

ARTICLE 19

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

International Press Institute (IPI)

Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)

This letter is coordinated by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. This project provides legal and practical support, public advocacy and information to protect journalists and media workers. The MFRR is organised by an consortium led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) with ARTICLE 19, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Institute for Applied Informatics at the University of Leipzig (InfAI), International Press Institute (IPI) and CCI/Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT). The project is co-funded by the European Commission. www.mfrr.eu

MFRR_ECPMF part of MFRR Logos_2400px

Read news by categories:

Related news

Statement

Cyprus: Call for thorough investigations into surveillance of Makarios Drousiotis

We are highly concerned about the alleged surveillance of journalist Makarios Drousiotis, and the lack of prompt, adequate or thorough investigation of the matter.

READ MORE
Feature

Greece: International press freedom mission to Athens

Between 25 and 27 September 2023, eight international press freedom and freedom of expression organisations will conduct a joint advocacy and fact-finding mission to Athens.

READ MORE
Statement

Public Letter on the role of the European Board for Media Services

We call on the European Parliament to strengthen the EMFA’s state advertising provisions and by doing so, ensure that media freedom can flourish in the European Union.

READ MORE
Press release

Polish media grapple with unprecedented challenges and uncertain future as the country faces electoral crossroads

At the conclusion of their press freedom mission to Warsaw from 11-13 September, partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) declared that the media and journalists in Poland are facing unprecedented challenges including legal threats, financial precarity, political pressure, regulatory capture and growing polarisation.

READ MORE
Statement

Government of Malta must publish Committee of Experts on Media report

We call on the government of Malta to publish without further delay the report by the Committee of Experts on Media, the body tasked with advising the Government on implementing the recommendations of the Public Inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

READ MORE
Statement

Ukraine: Call for an End to Russian War Crimes Against Journalists in Ukraine

We, the undersigned journalists, press freedom organizations, and unions, write this statement to denounce the war crimes committed by the Russian Federation against journalists in Ukraine and to call for immediate action to hold the perpetrators accountable.

READ MORE