European Union Affairs Committee supported Latvia’s initiative to prevent hate speech in audiovisual media
At its sitting today, the European Union Affairs Committee (EUAC) decided to join Latvia's green card initiative aimed at preventing hate speech in audiovisual media.
The Chairman of the Committee Kalle Palling said that the Committee decide to support the initiative in order to draw the attention of the European Commission on the inadequate hate speech regulation of the European Union.
“The current process for preventing hate speech is drawn-out and complicated. It could be made much more efficient. Every country should have the possibility to respond quickly to the transmission of media services by another country, if this undermines the political stability of the country, incites violence, or causes tensions and rifts within the society,” Palling said. “This is the first time for the Riigikogu to join a green card initiative of an EU national parliament,” Palling added.
The European Union Affairs Committee of the Latvian parliament has submitted a green card initiative concerning the review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), pointing out its shortcomings regarding the regulation of hate speech. The European Commission is planning to publish the reviewed draft AVMSD this spring.
The green card initiative proposes that the European Commission should create a rapid response mechanism for the competent national authorities to act in cases of violation of rules and hate-mongering, and should also make the directive applicable to the media services originating from outside the EU. Another objective is to end the unequal treatment of television broadcasts and on-demand services.
The green card initiative is an informal parliamentary initiative available to EU Member States. Its objective is to ask the European Commission to develop and change a specific area of legislation.
The EUAC confirmed Estonia’s position on the consultation document concerning the review of the AVMSD on 28 September 2015.
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