The Verkhovna Rada has registered a bill to regulate the work of social networks
Kyiv • UNN
A draft law has been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada that would regulate the operation of social media such as Telegram in Ukraine, require disclosure of information about owners and sources of funding, and restrict the use of platforms with an opaque ownership structure.
A draft law on the regulation of Telegram and other social networks in Ukraine has been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. The document was registered on March 25, UNN reports with reference to the bill card.
We are talking about the draft law No. 11115 "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Regulation of the Activity of Platforms for Shared Access to Information through which Mass Information is Disseminated."
The draft law provides for the following:
- distinguishes providers of information sharing platforms through which mass information is disseminated as separate entities in the media sphere;
- clarifies that the key difference between information sharing platforms through which mass information is disseminated is the presence of pages (accounts, channels, etc.) through which mass information is disseminated;
- establish legal requirements for providers of information sharing platforms through which mass information is disseminated;
- The draft law proposes not to establish mandatory registration for providers of information sharing platforms. Instead, such providers must ensure the presence of their representative in Ukraine (representative office, legal entity or individual with a power of attorney) for communication. This requirement does not apply to platforms that are registered or have a representative office in the EU;
- platform providers are obliged to disclose their ownership structure and sources of funding at the request of the National Council.
- The draft law proposes to establish a legislative presumption that the inability to conduct an inspection due to the lack of communication with the provider (both due to the lack of representation and the failure to provide the requested documents and information) is a ground for recognizing the ownership structure of such a provider as non-transparent;
- state authorities, local self-government bodies, their officials, as well as financial service providers, are not allowed to use information sharing platforms with a non-transparent ownership structure of their providers;
- Since the use of media by military formations belonging to the security and defense sector may have peculiarities related to the specifics of their activities and special requirements for information security, the draft law proposes that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should regulate the procedure for the use of services of providers with a non-transparent ownership structure by relevant officials and military personnel;
- establishes the principles of liability of providers of information sharing platforms through which mass information is disseminated, according to the same rules established by the current Law of Ukraine "On Media" for providers of video sharing platforms.
Recall
A representative of the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Andriy Yusov, said that Telegram poses a threat to Ukraine's information security and that work is underway to counter disinformation on platforms such as Telegram and TikTok.
