Zelensky signs controversial law expanding government power to regulate media

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a controversial statute expanding the government’s power to regulate media groups and journalists in the country.

Zelensky signed the legislation on Thursday over the objections of media unions and press freedom organizations that warned it will have a chilling effect on free speech.

Under the new law, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council, whose members are appointed by the president’s administration and by members of parliament, will have broader authority over Ukrainian media organizations and journalists.

The regulatory agency can effectively shut down news sites that aren’t registered, according to The Kyiv Independent.

In a statement last month, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine said the bill posed a “threat” to press freedom in the country.

“Such powers are clearly excessive,” the organization wrote. “No one has yet managed to tame freedom of speech in Ukraine. It won’t work this time either.”

Zelensky’s administration has been accused of suppressing press freedom. He first ordered the drafting of a new law to boost media regulation in 2019, the year he entered office.

The law was passed along with several other new statutes lawmakers say are required in order to become eligible for European Union membership, which Ukraine applied for last year.

The bill for the legislation, which the Ukrainian parliament passed on Dec. 13, was watered down after mounting criticism.

Previous draft versions handed the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council a greater ability to impose fines on media groups, revoke licenses from printed media and block online outlets from publishing restricted information.

This comes from one of the better western media outlets, The Hill, which is a little surprising considering that the western mainstream shamelessly runs interface for the puppet regime, generally publishing everything the nazi say and report without any reservations or casting the slightest of doubt. This time they don't only voice critical reports about the current tyrannical actions, they go a step further and reference past tyrannical measures the regime has taken. What's next, an expose or hit piece on the Nazi? The Hills journalist, Kim Iverson, left amid their lack of interest in letting her interview Fauci, and she has exposed the Nazi on multiple occasions since:

This one was also quite revealing while she was on The Rising show: