MINSK. May 24 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has approved changes to the law on mass media, the Telegram channel The First Man's Pool, close to the presidential press service, said on Monday.
"The list of information, the dissemination of which in the mass media and on Internet sites is prohibited has expanded. In particular, a ban is imposed on the publication of results of polls on the sociopolitical situation conducted without obtaining the necessary accreditation. The publication of hyperlinks to reports and materials containing information the dissemination of which is prohibited is not allowed," the report said.
Prosecutors are given the right to restrict access to Internet sites and online publications disseminating information aimed at promoting extremist activities or containing calls to it, as well as other information whose dissemination can hurt national interests.
The new law provides that, along with court rulings, the publication of a media can be terminated by a decision of the Information Ministry, for example, in situations when a legal entity performing the functions of an editorial board of a media outlet, the founder of a media outlet, or the owner of an online publication has been issued two or more written warnings.
The law envisages measures aimed at minimizing foreign influence on the Belarusian information market. "In particular, foreign legal entities, foreign citizens and stateless persons, and also legal entities with foreign capital cannot be founders of media outlets, regardless of the time of their creation," the report said.
The document "introduces the possibility of depriving a media outlet journalist of accreditation if he or the legal entity performing the functions of the editorial board of a media outlet has violated the procedures governing accreditation, has disseminated information that is false and defamatory to the organization that accredited the journalist, or has deliberately committed an illegal action in the process of professional activities," the report said.