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In a statement to the federal government, Amnesty International criticized the fact that some of the planned provisions do not conform with human rights standards. The restriction of the so-called "Blue Page" of orf.at to 350 reports per week represents a restriction on the right to freedom of expression, the organization said.
"Any restriction of human rights by a government must pursue a legitimate aim - such as protecting the human rights of others or protecting national security," said Nicole Pinter, lawyer at Amnesty International Austria. "However, the protection of the economic interests of private media houses mentioned in the explanations of the draft law is not such a legitimate goal," she states. Also: “The assertion that a restriction on the blue page is to the advantage of the other media houses, because with fewer reports orf.at increased use of paid offers is an unproven hypothesis.”
Amnesty also makes it clear in the statement that the Blue Page is an essential source of information for many people. Restricting the contributions would have a relevant impact on raising public awareness, since readers would no longer be informed about important topics to the same extent as before.
Furthermore, the human rights organization criticizes the missed opportunity to regulate the depoliticization of the ORF committees in the course of the new ORF law - which would be an important and urgently necessary step to ensure the long-term independence of the ORF. Amnesty also notes in the statement that, despite numerous demands from civil society, the government did not seize the opportunity to develop media funding that is based on objective criteria and promotes a diverse and independent media landscape in Austria.
Photo / Video: Amnesty.
