Lawmakers Pass Controversial Bill On Media Ownership

Polish Lawmakers have passed a controversial bill that many see as a limit to media freedom.

Gatekeepers News reports that Polish Parliament has passed an amendment to the Broadcasting Act which would ban non-European ownership of domestic media.

The amendment was aimed at the largest private broadcaster in the country, TVN, and dubbed the “Lex TVN” which has been under fire from the ruling Law and Justice party for its critical coverage of the government.

The amendment was approved with 228 votes in favour, 216 against, and 10 abstentions at the Sejm (the lower house of parliament).

Although the session was initially adjourned following a motion submitted by the opposition, the speaker of the Sejm ordered another vote on the motion after a group of deputies from the Kukiz’15 party claimed they mistakenly voted in favour of it the first time round.

The bill is expected to go to the upper house of parliament (the senate).

TVN, owned by Discovery, Inc., has, however, protested that the bill under the pretense of a fight against foreign propaganda, would limit media freedom in Poland.

In February 2020, the station earlier applied to renew its broadcasting license, which will expire on September 26, but it has not been approved.

Meanwhile, Law and Justice have consistently rejected the criticism of the bill, stressing that it was intended to “tighten the law” and get rid of “dangerous loopholes” that could be exploited by states such as China or Russia in a bid to enter the Polish media market.

Jurist Mikołaj Małecki of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków said the decision to hold another vote on the bill was an “act of lawlessness at the highest levels of the government.” Małecki said a vote could be repeated only if there were “reasonable doubts” about its outcome, not when a group of deputies decides they made a mistake.

A Journalist at Gazeta Wyborcza, Roman Imielski, wrote “Lex TVN is the next step to help Law and Justice win the next elections. And the scandalous resumption of the vote, which was lost by the party, demonstrates that we are witnessing a real coup d’état.”

Meanwhile, over 260 journalists from Poland’s media outlets have signed an open letter in protest against the proposals, describing them as the final stage of “taking control of one of the last institutions that hold the country’s authorities accountable.”

On Tuesday, protest against the bill were held across 100 towns and cities in Poland.