Parliament debates bill aiming to safeguard Armenia from political foreign media meddling
Parliament on Tuesday debated at second reading a bill proposing new regulations to the Law on Audiovisual Media, including the possibility of sanctioning foreign broadcasts that interfere in the domestic political life of the Republic of Armenia.
Armenia’s Minister of High-Tech Industry, Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, presented the bill to lawmakers.
The regulations will ban the dissemination of audiovisual content that aims to call for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, promote war, or interfere in Armenia’s domestic political affairs through foreign audiovisual programs.
Hayrapetyan said that between the first and second readings, the bill had been amended in collaboration with the Justice Ministry and the Television and Radio Commission. The regulatory body will be authorized to define the criteria for applying the ban.
According to him, the amendments and additions proposed by the bill will clarify the cases in which audiovisual content is prohibited. In particular, the dissemination of foreign audiovisual programs containing content that interferes in Armenia’s domestic political affairs will be prohibited. Clear grounds and mechanisms will be established for suspending and terminating the licenses of network operators, and fines will be introduced for network operators engaging in activities in violation of the law.
