The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted draft law No. 11321, which establishes new rules for online media regarding the moderation of user comments. According to the adopted document, media outlets will not be liable for the dissemination of negative or inaccurate comments, provided that they respond to complaints in a timely manner.
The initiator of the document was Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech.
The amendments clarify the provisions of Article 117 of the Law of Ukraine "On Media". From now on, media outlets will not be liable for the dissemination of user information that:
- contains accusations of corruption or other wrongdoings against officials;
- violates the rights and legitimate interests of individuals;
- is considered unreliable according to court decisions.
The main condition is to remove such comments or posts from discussion sections within three business days of receiving the relevant order or resolution.
According to the explanations of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, negative information about a person is considered unreliable unless the author provides evidence to the contrary. In particular, this applies to allegations of violations of laws, moral principles, or ethical behavior that may harm the person's reputation.
The law also extends liability for the dissemination of false or prohibited information to journalists working under civil law contracts. At the same time, they are exempt from liability if the information was:
- reproduced verbatim or without distortion of the essence from other registered media;
- received in response to official requests;
- published by government bodies or official institutions.
We remind you that the former head of one of the Departments of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as well as two heads of a state enterprise, were notified of suspicion of misappropriation and embezzlement of property, obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Part 5 of Article 191, Part 2 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). In addition, the heads of the state enterprise were also notified of suspicion of official forgery (Part 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
