OSCE media freedom representative expresses concern about Lithuanian public information law, welcomes authorities' co-operation on improving it

VIENNA, 4 September 2009 - Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, expressed concern today that a recently amended law that aims to protect minors is sovague that it will restrict legitimate media content, but he also welcomed the Lithuanian authorities' readiness to co-operate with the OSCE in improving the law."The law sets numerous limits on freedom of expression generally, not only on children's programmes," Haraszti wrote in a letter to Arunas Valinskas, Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament, and to Vygaudas Usackas, Minister of Foreign Affairs. "It introduces dubious and vague media content regulations that can be arbitrarily applied against media."Parliament, the Seimas, adopted the amendments to the Law on the Protection of Minors against Detrimental Effect of Public Information on 14 July.

New initiatives put forward in the Seimas aim to improve the law before it enters into force on 1 March 2010.The July rules outlaw public speech "agitating for homosexual, bisexual and polygamous relations" as well as "portrayal of physical or psychological violence", "promoting bad eating, sanitary and physical passivity habits" and "portraying mockery of a person"."Some of these norms are discriminatory, and all of them hamper the production of artistic or documentary content," Haraszti said. "But their main problem is a vagueness that makes their application unavoidably arbitrary, selective and politicized."Haraszti welcomed the Lithuanian authorities' readiness to co-operate with his office on the reform of the new law before it comes into force.

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