Mincifers proposed to release the state media from the obligation to report on foreign financing

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation proposed to release the state media from the obligation to submit reports on foreign financing. The bill is published on the portal of draft regulatory legal acts.

We are talking about amendments that will complement the list of exceptions in Article 19.2 of the Law "On Media" (notification of receipt by the media editor, a broadcaster or publisher of funds from foreign sources) "media, the founders of which were federal state authorities or organizations or organizations, the main activities of which are funded by funds (subsidies) provided from the federal budget."

Now all the media, except foreign and created under international treaties of Russia, must once a quarter report on foreign financing. This requirement was introduced that Russian citizens can know "about the preparation of commercial media" materials at the expense of foreign organizations that are a danger to the interests of Russian society and the state in conditions when the pressure on the Russian media intensified in a number of countries by disclosing information on income received. "

“At the same time, attempts to influence the Russian information space from the outside with the aim of a biased informing and creating a distorted picture of political reality can only take place in relation to commercial media that do not have state funding (subsidies) and the state power of the priority goals and types of activities of such media,” the Ministry of Construction found out.

The activities of the media, whose founders are the federal state authorities or the organizations established by them, writes the department, “is of strategic importance for ensuring the defense capacity and security of the state, protecting morality, health, rights and legitimate interests of citizens of the Russian Federation and is aimed at achieving state, public or other public interests,” and they themselves can provide services on a commercial basis “strictly in accordance with approved constituent documents”.

According to an explanatory note, in the case of state publications without "implementing international information exchange, cooperation with world, national and regional information agencies <...> it is impossible <...> comprehensive objective coverage of world events."

Since 2016, Roskomnadzor has been posting lists with the media reporting on foreign financing. In the last report for the first quarter of 2021, TASS and Russia Today are mentioned. The media law does not refer to such income revenue from the sale of advertising or its materials, and also does not apply to representative offices of foreign publications. We are talking about grants from other states, foreign companies and citizens, international organizations and NPOs from the register of "foreign agents".