Lex TVN

Lex TVN
Parliament of Poland
Long title Act of 11 August 2021 on the amendment of the "Broadcasting and the Cinematography Act"
Considered by	Sejm
Considered by	Senate
Vetoed by	PresidentAndrzej Duda
Vetoed	27 December 2021
Legislative history
First chamber:Sejm
Passed	18 December 2021
Voting summary	229 voted for 212 voted against 11 abstained
Final stages
Senateamendments considered by theSejm	18 December 2021
Status:Vetoed

A "free media" banner held by demonstrators protesting against the "Lex TVN" on 10 August in Poland.

Act of 11 August 2021 on the amendment of the "Broadcasting and the Cinematography Act"(Polish: Ustawa z dnia 11 sierpnia 2021 r. o zmianie ustawy o radiofonii i telewizji oraz ustawy o kinematografii), better known by media termLex TVN(lit."TVN Law" ), was a controversial Polish media law amendment of thePolish Broadcasting Act.It was meant to remove loopholes that allowed companies from outside theEuropean Economic Areato hold more than a 49% stake inPolish radio and television stationsby use ofdummy corporations.The government denies the measure is aimed at any one broadcaster, saying it seeks to prevent potential media acquisitions by non-EU countries such as Russia, China andArab nations;however, many critics describe this amendment as an attempt to harassTVNand its parent companyTVN Grupa Discoveryin particular, given that it is the main television platform for the opposition to the rulingLaw and Justiceparty.

On 18 December 2021, the bill was passed via theSejm.The Sejm voted in favor 229–212 with 11 abstentions to override the Senate's veto. Law and Justice (PiS) party and allied opposition groupKukiz'15voted for the bill, against was the remaining opposition with the exception of far rightConfederation,which abstained.The bill was vetoed by Polish PresidentAndrzej Dudaon 27 December 2021.

Background

TVN tends to be strongly critical of the Polish government since theLaw and Justice(PiS) party came to power in 2015. Historian and columnistTimothy Garton Ash,writing forThe Guardian,praisedFakty TVN's critical coverage of government issues when harshly criticisingTelewizja Polska'sWiadomości(News).

TheFactsis notBBC-style impartial: it clearly favours a more liberal, pro-European Poland and is strongly anti-PiS.But unlike the so-calledNews,it is still definitely professional, high quality, reality-based journalism.

The amendment

English banner held by demonstrators protesting against the "Lex TVN" on 19 December in Poland.

In July 2021, a group of PiS lawmakers submitted to parliament a draft amendment that would prevent companies from outside theEuropean Economic Areaof taking control of Polish radio and television stations. This would mean that Discovery, the owner of TVN, might be forced to divest its ownership.The partyAgreement,then PiS' coalition partner, was opposed to this and instead proposed a change that would allow companies from countries in theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) to own more than 49% of shares in Polish media companies, which would mean no change to the American ownership of the channel.TheLaw and JusticeleaderJarosław KaczyńskiassessedAgreement'sproposal as ridiculous noting that "Russia aspires to join the OECD".TheSecond Cabinet of Mateusz Morawieckiunder the rulingLaw and Justiceparty argues that it will protect Polish broadcasters from takeovers by companies based in hostile foreign powers such as China and Russia. However, opposition, as well as representatives fromEuropean Unionand theUnited Statescriticized it as it will force American companyDiscoveryto divest itself from Polish biggest television network,TVN,which has been often critical of the PiS-led government; Polish opposition and some international observers expressed fear that the amendment is threateningpress freedom in Poland.The amendment has been criticized for "threatening the largest ever US investment in Poland".

The law has also led to protests within Poland with a number of demonstrations on 10 August.

In August 2021, the bill was passed via theSejmmaking TVN's rights expire on 26 September.Due to strong opposition, this result threatened the stability of theUnited Rightcoalition after Deputy Prime MinisterJarosław Gowinhad been sacked and had taken away the 13 members of hisAgreementparty.

On 30 August 2021, the Chairman of theNational Council of Radio Broadcasting and Televisionsent to the TV operators a decision to move the licence of sister channelTVN24into theDiscovery Communications Benelux B.V.license, based in theNetherlands.The decision ensures the continuity of broadcasting the TVN24 program after September 26, 2021, regardless of the results of the ongoing conflict with Law and Justice government.On September 24, 2021 - two days before the expiration of the previous licence - TVN24 was granted a new Polish licence.

On 18 December 2021, the bill was passed via theSejm.The Sejm voted in favor 229–212 with 11 abstentions to override the Senate's veto. Law and Justice (PiS) party and allied opposition group Kukiz'15 voted for the bill, against was the remaining opposition with the exception of far right Confederation, which abstained.

On 27 December 2021 the bill was vetoed by Polish PresidentAndrzej Duda,who said he generally believed limiting foreign ownership of media was sensible, but that any regulation should concern future investments in the sector, not current owners.He justified his decision explaining that the amendment would be against the spirit of a 1990 international agreement with theUnited Statesconcerning the protection of investments.

See also

• 1972 Philippines Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos
• Proclamation No. 1081
• 2007 Venezuelan RCTV protests
• Shutdown of ABS-CBN broadcasting
• Rede Tupi
• Sonshine Media Network International
• Tongyang Broadcasting Company
• Sinar Harapan
• Closure of ERT