In the third reading, the Parliament approved the draft law on Amendments to the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting with 79 votes.
According to David Songulashvili, the Chairman of the Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee, this draft law aligns with the recommendations of the European Council, fulfilling the European Commission's recommendation to establish an effective mechanism at the legislative level to prevent the dissemination of hate speech and incitement to terrorism. This, in turn, contributes to fulfilling the 7th point of the 12-point plan.
The key amendment in the law concerns the procedure for appealing decisions made by self-regulatory bodies related to the distribution of programs and advertisements containing hate speech and calls to terrorism. The project enables the appeal of such decisions to the commission, particularly in cases where there's a violation concerning the ban on disseminating programs and advertisements containing obscenity, hate speech, and calls to terrorism. The commission is granted authority to address calls to terrorism and the spread of hate speech, particularly in cases of severe human rights violations, within its prescribed powers, and to impose administrative sanctions on offenders in line with the law. The amendment also provides for potential court appeals.
The Parliament expedited the consideration of this document.
