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Media and Elections

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What are the legal conditions, if any, under which the activities of a media outlet may be suspended?

total countries/territories: 173
Disclaimer: This section of Comparative Data is not being updated. Users should be aware that data may be inaccurate. If you find inaccuracies, please contact the ACE facilitators.
Andorra Afghanistan Albania a Angola Argentina American Samoa Australia a Aruba Azerbaijan Bosnia and Herzegovina a Barbados Bangladesh Belgium Bulgaria Bahrain a Burundi Benin a Bermuda Bolivia Brazil Bahamas Botswana Belarus a Belize Canada T Congo (Kinshasa), Democratic Republic of the Central African Republic Congo (Brazzaville) Switzerland Côte d'Ivoire a Cook Islands Chile Cameroon Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Cape Verde Cyprus Czech Republic a Germany (1) Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing and pictures and to inform himself without hindrance from generally accessible sources. Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship. (2) These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons and in the right to personal honour. Djibouti a Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic Algeria a Ecuador Estonia Egypt a Eritrea "endangering national security" Spain Ethiopia a Fiji Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Micronesia, Federated States of France United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Grenada Georgia French Guiana Gambia a Guinea Guadeloupe Guatemala Guam Guinea-Bissau Guyana Hong Kong Honduras Croatia Hungary a Indonesia Ireland a India Iraq Iran, Islamic Republic of Iceland Italy Jamaica Jordan a Japan Kenya Contravention of the licensing conditions Kyrgyzstan Cambodia Kiribati The Commission may suspend or revoke a licence in cases where the licensee: (a) fails to comply with a material term or condition of its licence such as the failure to pay its licence fees (b) has mislead the Commission in its licence application or in its submission of any information required under the Regulatory Framework (c) is insolvent, in receivership, or bankrupt. Saint Kitts and Nevis Not explicitly stated. Where the Minister proposes to vary, or revoke or suspend a licence or frequency authorisation, he shall notify the licensee or frequency authorisation holder of the reasons for the proposed variation, revocation or suspension; and specify a period of not less than two months from the date of the notice within which representation with respect to the proposal may be made. Korea, Republic of Cayman Islands Kazakhstan Lebanon a Saint Lucia Sri Lanka Liberia a Lesotho REFER TO LESOTHO TELECOMMUNICATION AUTHORITY (BROADCASTING) RULES 2004: Purpose of the regulation It is important to note that these are a set of administrative rules made by the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority (“the LTA”) governing the broadcasting sector that were made in terms of section 16(2) of the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority Act, 2000. Sector of the media affected by the regulation The rules apply only to radio and television broadcasters. Key provisions The rules regulate several administrative and content issues in the broadcast sector. Section 3 deals with records that are to be kept by licensees and include: corporate status documents, employee records, programme schedules and logs as well as advertising and music logs. Original recordings of all programmes broadcast must be retained for at least three months. Part III of the rules is headed Code of Practice and deals with content regulation. Keys aspects of this part are as follows: Section 6 of the Code of Practice deals with broadcast content regulation and prohibits a licensee from broadcasting content which, when measured by contemporary community standards: offends against good taste or decency; contains the gratuitous use of offensive language, including blasphemy; presents sexual matters in gratuitous, explicit and offensive manner; glorifies violence; is likely to incite crime or lead to disorder; or is likely to incite hatred based on a number of grounds including race ethnicity, nationality, gender, marital status, sexual preference, age, disability, religion or culture. Section 7 requires licensees to avoid content, which may disturb or be harmful to children such as offensive language, or explicit sexual or violent material. Section 8 deals with news and information programming and requires: fairness, accuracy and impartiality in news and information programmes; that news and information to be presented in context and in a balanced manner that where reports are founded on opinion, supposition, rumours or allegations, this be clearly indicated; that where there is reason to doubt the correctness of a report that verification be undertaken and if this is not possible that this fact be mentioned; and corrections of factual errors be broadcast as soon as reasonably possible and with due prominence. Section 9 deals with news and information programmes on controversial issues and its key provisions are as follows: in reporting on controversial issues of political, industrial or public importance, an appropriate range of views are to be reported either within a single programme or in a series of programmes; during phone-in programmes, a licensee shall ensure that a wide range of opinions is represented over a reasonable period of time; a person or organisation whose views have been criticised during a programme on a controversial issue of public importance, shall be offered a reasonable opportunity by the licensee to reply to such criticism and the reply shall be given a similar degree of prominence and broadcast during a similar timeslot as soon as reasonably possible after the original criticism. Section 10 deals with the conducting of interviews and its key provisions are as follows: that persons interviewed by the licensee shall be advised of the subject of the interview and be informed beforehand whether the interview is to be recorded or broadcast live; and that before conducting an interview with a child, a licensee shall request permission in writing from the child’s parent or guardian. Section 11 deals with comment and provides that a comment, whether by the licensee or by a person invited on air by the licensee, shall be presented in manner that clearly indicates that it is a comment. Further, a comment shall be an expression of opinion and shall be based only on facts. Section 12 deals with privacy and provides that a licensee shall not present material which invades a person’s privacy and family life unless there are identifiable public interest reasons for doing so. Section 13 deals with payment for information obtained from criminals and provides that a licensee shall not pay persons involved in crime or persons who have previously engaged in crime to obtain information unless there are compelling public interest reasons for doing so. Section 14 deals with party-political broadcasts and advertisements and the most important aspect of this is that it provides that although a licensee is not required to broadcast a party-political advertisement, if it elects to do so, it shall afford all other political parties a similar opportunity in a non- discriminatory manner. Part IV of the rules contains the Advertising and Sponsorship code, the key aspects of which are as follows: LESOTHO 29 Section 15 requires that broadcast advertisements must be decent, conform to principles of fair competition in business and should not mislead the audience or discredit other products. Section 16 deals with scheduling of advertisements and requires, among other things, that there be a clear distinction between advertisements and programming and that advertising be appropriate for children during times when children may be expected to be in the audience. Section 17 deals with sponsorships and provides that a licensee may accept sponsorships for programming, including of news bulletins, provided: the licensee retains ultimate editorial control over the programming; impartiality and accuracy of the programming is not compromised; sponsorship is clearly acknowledged. Part V deals with complaints and investigations and the key aspects of this are as follows: • Section 18 requires that a broadcaster must ensure that a complainant is advised of their right to take a complaint to the LTA if s/he is not satisfied with the broadcaster’s response to the complaint. • Section 19 requires broadcasters to make copies of relevant programming available to any person who requests same in circumstances where the person has reason to believe that he or she has been unfairly treated. • Section 20 and 21 provide for the LTA to initiate investigation and monitoring procedures and for broadcasters to co-operate therewith. These sections and specifically provide that broadcasters have a right to make oral or written representations to the LTA. Part VI deals with amendments of licence conditions. Section 23 deals with amendments imposed by the LTA whereas section 24 deals with amendments requested by a licensee. It is important to note that section 23 requires notification be given to the licensee but does not provide for a broader public process while section 24 gives the LTA the choice whether to invite other licensees to make representations on the requested amendment. We are of the view that giving competitors and the public an opportunity to make representations on all proposed amendments to licences ensures that the regulator is likely to have access to the best possible information on the relevant issues. Powers granted to the Minister or Director General by the regulation None. Provisions for media not controlled by the state The Act does not make specific provisions for media not controlled by the state but applies broadly to both private and state broadcasters. Body which enforces compliance with the regulation The LTA is responsible for enforcing compliance with the rules. Provisions limiting media ownership The rules do not provide for any type of media ownership limitation. Consequence of non-compliance with the regulation In the event of a finding that a licensee has failed to comply with a requirement of the LTA Act, 2000, the rules or a license condition, the LTA may impose a fine, direct the licensee to broadcast a correction or an apology, or both. In terms of section 26(2), the LTA determines the amount of the fine payable. LESOTHO MEDIA LAW HANDBOOK Right to Respect for Private and Family Life Section 11(1) of the Lesotho Constitution provides that “[e]very person shall be entitled to respect for his private and family life and home”. This privacy right is often raised in litigation involving the media with subjects of press attention asserting their rights not to be photographed, written about or followed in public etc. The media does have to be careful in this regard and should be aware that there are always “boundaries” in respect of privacy which need to be respected and which are dependent on the particular circumstances, including, whether or not the person is a public figure or holds public office and the nature of the issue being dealt with by the media. • States of Emergency and Derogations from Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms Provisions It is also important to note the provisions of sections 21 and 23 of Chapter II in the Constitution of Lesotho that deal with Derogations of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms and States of Emergency. In terms of section 23, a state of emergency may be proclaimed by the Prime Minister acting in accordance with the Council of State for a period of 14 days. If each House of Parliament approves the declaration then it will remain in force for six months (although this can be further extended for up to six months at a time) in “a time or war or other public emergency which threatens the life of the nation”. Importantly, section 21 specifically allows for states of emergency legislation to provide for the derogation of certain rights laid down in Chapter II of the Lesotho Constitution, however none of the rights which are important to the media and which have been summarised above, are included in the list. Luxembourg Latvia a Morocco a Moldova, Republic of a Madagascar a Marshall Islands Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of a Mali a Martinique Mauritania Malta Mauritius a Maldives Malawi Malaysia A Mozambique Namibia New Caledonia Niger a Nigeria Nicaragua Netherlands Norway Nepal Niue New Zealand Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA): The Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 is a key legislation that addresses online harassment, cyberbullying, and harmful digital communications. In New Zealand, anyone can make a complaint about a publication or broadcast that they believe does not comply with specific criteria. Panama Peru French Polynesia Papua New Guinea Philippines a Pakistan Poland a Puerto Rico Palestine a Portugal Palau Paraguay Réunion Russian Federation Detailed information is provided in Articles 31.5 and 31.7 of Federal Law on Mass Media. Rwanda Solomon Islands Seychelles a Sudan a Sweden Singapore Saint Helena Slovenia a Slovakia a Sierra Leone a San Marino Senegal a Somalia a Sao Tome and Principe El Salvador Swaziland Chad Togo a Thailand Tajikistan Timor-Leste Tunisia a Turkey a Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Tanzania, United Republic of a Ukraine a Uganda a Uruguay Uzbekistan Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Venezuela Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna Samoa Yemen a Mayotte South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe

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