“Everyone who is Free from Political Bias Knows that this is a European Law, and the Media must Adhere to these Fundamental Standards” – Kakha Bekauri

During today’s session of the Communications Commission, Chairman Kakha Bekauri reminded media representatives and the public that the amendments to the Law on Broadcasting are fully European in nature and have been in effect in all European countries for a long time. Specifically, European countries have been instructing broadcasters for years to adhere to fundamental journalistic standards that responsible media outlets should already be doing. 

“This law requires broadcasters to present news and factual information to viewers with due accuracy. They are also required to adhere to the standards of fairness and impartiality, to clearly distinguish between fact and opinion, and to avoid expressing a position in news reports and political shows. Adherence to such journalistic standards is critically important. This is not up for debate in Europe, where broadcasters no longer have such problems and even social media platforms are preventing similar violations. I have not yet heard any facts that show that this is anything other than a European law. I only hear scepticism. I also understand very well that you have questions about the implementation of the law, but I assure you that the media has no reason to worry in this regard, since the Commission has only one goal, and that is to improve the media environment. I have heard many comments that this is a punitive law for the media. I assure you that this is not the case, and the Commission will do everything possible to eliminate problems in the media that harm the viewers. To this end, we will work closely with broadcasters that are sincerely concerned about this issue,” Kakha Bekauri stated. 

According to the ComCom Chairman, some people are making numerous accusations against the Commission for political purposes, but the Commission does not pursue such an agenda. 

“Whoever needs to talk about censorship for political purposes, that is their own business. I have never followed such an agenda, nor have I ever paid attention to it. The journalists and producers who are concerned about the fate of the media know very well that this is a European law, and that the media must adhere to these fundamental standards. Fortunately, apart from those with a political interest, there are high-level professionals in our media who know exactly what the journalistic standards are. They know how to separate fact from opinion, they know what facts are, and what is considered a distortion of facts. Therefore, we will work as closely as possible with people who know this and have a sincere desire to uphold these standards to ensure that our audience is not misled,” Mr. Bekauri stated.