Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a controversial law that increases the government’s powers to regulate media groups and journalists in the country.
Zelensky signed the law Thursday amid protests from media unions and press freedom organizations that warned it would have a dire impact on free speech.
Under the new law, the National Broadcasting Council, whose members are appointed by the president’s administration and members of parliament, will have broader powers over Ukrainian media organizations and journalists.
According to Q Independent, the regulatory agency can effectively shut down news sites that are not registered.
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine said in a statement last month that the bill was a threat to press freedom in the country.
“Such powers are clearly excessive,” the agency wrote. No one has yet managed to tame freedom of speech in Ukraine. It won’t work this time either.”
Zelenskiy’s government has been accused of suppressing press freedom. He first ordered the drafting of a new law to strengthen media regulation in 2019, the year he took office.
The law was passed along with several other new laws that lawmakers say are necessary to qualify for EU membership, which Ukraine applied for last year.
The bill, which Ukraine’s parliament passed on December 13, was watered down after mounting criticism.
Earlier draft versions gave the National Broadcasting Council more power to impose fines on media groups, revoke print media licenses and block online media from publishing restricted information.
When draft versions were published, several international media organizations voiced their opposition to the law, including the Committee to Protect Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists (EPJ).
EPJ Secretary General Ricardo Gutiérrez told The New York Times that the law still conflicts with European press freedom standards.
“Ukraine will demonstrate its European commitment by promoting a free and independent media, not by establishing state control over information,” Gutierrez said.