Yurchyshyn denies ban of media Telegram accounts
22 April 2024 12:09
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
In a comment to Komersant Ukrainskiy 
, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, denied that the Committee on Freedom of Speech would be considering a ban on official media using Telegram.
telegram channels are spreading information that Yaroslav Yurchyshyn will soon raise the issue of banning official media from using Telegram at the Committee on Freedom of Speech.
“In simple words, the media want to ban the creation of Telegram channels for publications,”
– the statement reads.
The head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, in a comment to Kommersant Ukrainsky denied this information.
“This is not true,” he said,
– he said briefly.
It is worth noting that the Verkhovna Rada has registered draft law No. 11115, which will allow the regulation of information sharing platforms. This applies to messengers and, in particular, Telegram.
The explanatory note states that Telegram is used by 72% of Ukrainians to obtain information, and therefore it should be regulated no less than other media sources with a much smaller reach.
“An additional argument for the introduction of regulation is that, for example, the Telegram platform may be associated with the aggressor state,”
– the document says.
What is proposed in the bill:
Telegram will be defined in the law as a platform for sharing information through which mass information is disseminated (a platform on which accounts – pages, channels, etc. of users through which mass information is disseminated – are created and function).
Thus, it will be classified as a media entity.
Telegram and other similar social networks will be obliged to submit to the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting information on the ownership structure, applications for amendments to the Register and updated information on the ownership structure.
If Telegram fails to provide the National Council with information about its representative in Ukraine or an open representative office in any EU member state, its ownership structure will be recognised as non-transparent. In this case, it will be banned from being used by government agencies and officials.
Telegram channels (in case of voluntary registration) will also be classified as online media.
Telegram will be obliged to publish refutations and restrict certain information that, in particular, infringes copyright and related rights.
The draft law has been sent to the relevant committee for consideration.
Representatives of government agencies and local authorities in Ukraine may be banned from having Telegram accounts if this multi-platform messenger is recognised as a non-transparent network.
As previously reported, Telegram has received a list of “potentially problematic” channels from the Ukrainian authorities and is checking their content for compliance with the messenger’s rules.
on 28 February, at the initiative of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, a roundtable meeting was held, where participants called for a ban on Telegram in Ukraine. However, the National Security and Defence Council’s Centre for Countering Disinformation believes that this is impossible.
