Kosovo’s Parliament adopted a controversial law on the Independent Media Commission, IMC, ignoring international calls for stricter safeguards. The new law requires online media to obtain state licenses and register with the IMC, which will manage the Online Media Register. They will also now be subject to a regime of sanctions, including potential fines of up to 40,000 EUR. Media organizations criticized the lack of transparency, noting civil society and the media were excluded. The Association of Journalists of Kosovo, AJK, also criticized the new law, calling it as “a blow to media freedom and an attempt to discipline and control them international critics, including the EU, CoE, and OSCE highlighted the current draft requires further revisions to enhance legal clarity, proportionality, and further compliance with EU and Council of Europe standard. Read more here.
Source: DTT NET/ BalkanInsight/ Prishtina Insight