The House of Representatives discussed the mechanisms of media protection
Mechanisms of protection of Belarusian mass media in the conditions of their blocking by foreign online platforms were discussed today during the round table "Law of the Russian Federation".
The mechanisms of protection of Belarusian media in the conditions of their blocking by foreign online platforms were discussed today during the round table “The Right to Information in the Modern World”, which was held by the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on Human Rights, National Relations and Media. The discussion was attended by the Minister of Information of Belarus Dmitry Zhuk, heads of leading republican mass media, parliamentarians, writes sb.by.
Opening the meeting, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on Human Rights, National Relations and Media Nikolai Buzin noted that the topic of the round table is very relevant:
- We see what is happening around us, around Belarus. The right that every person really has, which is enshrined in law, at the interstate level, at the UN level, at the level of our Constitution, is now, by and large, being crossed out.
Nikolai Buzin stressed that during the meetings, voters ask specific questions about why Belarusian state media are blocked by Western platforms.
In his comments to journalists, Nikolai Buzin noted that there is a real demand for truthful information in the Belarusian society:
- Every citizen of our country has the right to information, which is fixed at the legislative level. When we talk to voters, we hear a request that citizens want to receive truthful information. According to the republican sociological survey, 64% of citizens trust our national media. At the same time, we see a real attempt to shut down our media internationally. We have repeatedly said that YouTube blocks our Belarusian content almost without explanation. And most importantly, this platform does not adhere to the rules it sets itself.
The MP stressed that today the deputy corps is ready to work with voters, with the media to realize the right of citizens to reliable information.
- What happens next, time will tell. But the people’s representatives see this problem, see that today it is necessary to satisfy the request of our citizens for information. As for YouTube, unfortunately, now this platform has become fully engaged. I hope we can find a way out of this situation, he said.
Nikolai Buzin also reminded that we have a law “On mass media”, which spells out the appropriate mechanisms. And added:
- Excessively involved in legislative activities or cutting from the shoulder now makes no sense. We must use all mechanisms to ensure that information reaches our people. Perhaps there is a need to reformat the minds of our people a little. There are other platforms, there are other approaches. It is important to understand that any media is based on our habit of using it. Therefore, we must tell our people where to get truthful information, how to get a real picture and real facts.
According to Vitaly Utkin, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on Industry, Energy, Transport, Communications and Digital Development, parliamentarians will be included in the work to prevent interference in our information field by informing both at parliamentary platforms and in their constituencies during communication with voters and meetings in labor collectives:
- It is important to inform people that the suffrage banning freedom of speech in the media is being applied against Belarusian media today. We see a systematic violation of the international norms of law in relation to the Republic of Belarus, which has been taken on a large scale for a considerable amount of time. At first, this was used in economic processes, today, under the guise of “legality”, we are witnessing a sharp and strict censorship of owners on certain information platforms in order to prevent our media from giving the right to speak. In fact, there is a serious violation of international law. We will share this information with voters and our colleagues from other countries.
SB AMERICATION
YouTube channels of the republican media — BelTA, ONT, STV — were removed on April 3 due to sanctions. The American company Google did not provide any explanation. The Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus negatively assessed this unfriendly and groundless step, indicating that it reserves the right to take the necessary response measures. Later, in mid-September, right during the live broadcast of the talk show “Essentially”, dedicated to the Day of National Unity, YouTube video hosting blocked the TV channel STV. The video hosting has removed the channel of “DH show”, projects “Opinions” and “Without cover”. In addition, Radio Stalitsa, the First Channel of Belarusian Radio and Radio Kultura BY were blocked. After another blocking of cultural, entertainment and socio-political channels of Belarusian media by YouTube, the Ministry of Information of Belarus published a statement in which it regarded this fact as a gross manifestation of censorship and information segregation. The Ministry of Information urges Belarusian citizens to give preference to other, primarily national video platforms that do not practice such discriminatory approaches in their work.
celyuk@sb.by
