Firstly, the Parliament approved draft amendments to the Civil Code in the first reading on February 11, 2021. According to the amendments, the maximum fines for defamation increased several times. In particular, if the amendments are approved, the fines for slander will be raised from 2 million AMD (3,180 EUR) to 10 million AMD (app 16,000 EUR). The fines for offensive claims will be raised from 1 million to 5 million AMD. The draft was proposed by National Assembly Deputy Speaker in 2020 and was then criticized by media organisations. The government also objected this raise of the fines, finding it as disproportionate and not compliant with best European standards, suggesting lower thresholds for fines.
Secondly, a group of parliamentarians proposed amendments in the Law on Mass Media. These concern reference to anonymous sources and are aimed at decreasing disinformation. The draft defines an anonymous source as a domain registered on the Internet, a web hosting site, or an account or channel on a website or application, whose owner identification information is hidden from the reader. Accordingly, the draft prohibits mass media to refer to anonymous sources with some exceptions (such as citing an official document or public speech). The repercussions for violating the provisions of the law on Mass Media are specified in the Code on Administrative Offenses. The authors of these amendments have also proposed relevant amendments to this Code: the fine for violating this and other provisions of the law will be 500,000 AMD (app. 780 EUR), and 1 million AMD (app 1600 EUR) in case of repetitive violation (taking place within one year of applying the sanction). This would increase the current fines fiftyfold: now the fine for violating requirements of Law on Mass Media (such as failure of reporting) is 10,000 AMD (15 EUR)) and 20,000 AMD (31 EUR) for repetitive violation.
The proposed amendments also extend the requirements of financial reporting for mass media. While the current law requires publication of annual income amount with indication of percentage of donations in the total income, the draft amendments on Law on Mass Media include requirement to
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enlist income amounts by types of sources (i.e. advertisement, revenues, subscription fees, sponsorship, etc.), and
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provide information on the five largest contributors of income from advertisement and sponsorship.
The draft has not been included in the parliament agenda yet but raised a number of concerns and discussions among media organisations. The Human Rights Defender has consulted with media organisations and provided a negative opinion on the draft.
For more information about the international standards protecting freedom of expression and the overall environment for civil society in Armenia, download the country report or read the Updates from Armenia.