The Parliament Votes to Limit the Share of the Dominant Position in Forming Public Opinion in the Audiovisual Sector

The legislative authority voted for the 10% limitation of the quota for the dominant position in forming public opinion, according to the draft law on amending the Code of Audiovisual Media Services approved on Friday, July 14.

Currently, a natural or legal person is considered to have a dominant position in forming public opinion if the audience share of the audiovisual media services attributed to them accounts for more than 35% of the market. The approved amendments reduce this quota to 25%.

The amendment initiators affirm that it will allow reducing excessive impact of private interests on public life and help take deoligarchization steps stipulated by the plan of the National Commission for European Integration. The document lists the actions the authorities plan in order to implement the steps suggested by the European Commission in its opinion regarding the application for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union.

The CAMS amendment project was voted in the first reading; it was supported by 56 deputies and included several amendments to the audiovisual law. According to Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, president of the media committee in the Parliament and one of the authors of the legislative initiative, it is about “introducing provisions which would allow a better application of the rules on countering disinformation, protection of minors, functioning of the Broadcasting Council, and limiting the quota of the audience related to the dominant position in forming public opinion. The suggested amendments will enhance efficiency of the activity of the regulatory authority in the audiovisual sphere, and also limit private interests’ excessive impact on public life and implementation of deoligarchization activities”.