Zelensky signs law expanding government power to regulate media

quote:

---

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a controversial statute expanding the government’s power to regulate media groups and journalists in the country.

Zelensky signed the legislation on Thursday over the objections of media unions and press freedom organizations that warned it will have a chilling effect on free speech.

Under the new law, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council, whose members are appointed by the president’s administration and by members of parliament, will have broader authority over Ukrainian media organizations and journalists.

The regulatory agency can effectively shut down news sites that aren’t registered, according to The Kyiv Independent.

---

quote:

---

In a statement last month, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine said the bill posed a “threat” to press freedom in the country.

“Such powers are clearly excessive,” the organization wrote. “No one has yet managed to tame freedom of speech in Ukraine. It won’t work this time either.”

Zelensky’s administration has been accused of suppressing press freedom. He first ordered the drafting of a new law to boost media regulation in 2019, the year he entered office.

---