Venezuela's draft media law. good God!!!!

[Bacchus39]

http://english.eluniversal.com/2009/08/03/en_pol_esp_draft-special-law-ag_03A2581803.shtml

Draft Special Law Against Media Crimes
Politics Draft Special Law Against Media Crimes

Article 1. Purpose of the Law. This law is intended to prevent and punish the actions or omissions committed in the mass media that may constitute a crime for purposes of achieving both a balance and harmony between the rights to both freedom of expression and timely, accurate and impartial information and the citizens' right to domestic security, pursuant to the provisions set forth in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the laws and treaties, agreements and conventions subscribed and ratified by the Republic.

Article 2. Definition of mass media. For purposes of this law, the mass media are defined as those capable to transmit, circulate, broadcast and spread, in a steady and regular manner, texts, sounds or images intended for the general public, regardless of the medium or instrument used for such purposes.

Article 3. Active subjects. The following persons may incur in the crimes set forth under this law:

A. The owners and any other person who holds a leading position in press, television, radio or any other mass media, both state-run and private.
B. National independent producers, journalists, broadcasters, lecturers, artists and any other person who may voice their opinions in any mass media, whether press, television, radio or any others.

Article 4. Definition of media crimes. Media crimes are the actions or omissions that may be detrimental to the right to timely, accurate, and impartial information, that may endanger social peace, security and independence of the nation, public order, stability of the State institutions, public health or public morality, that may create a feeling of impunity or insecurity and that are committed in the mass media.

Article 5. Dissemination of false news. Any person who, in any mass media, disseminates false news that results in serious disturbance of public order, and panic among the people, or that keeps people in distress, disturbs the public order, and harms the interests of the State shall be punished with two to four years of imprisonment.

A similar penalty shall be imposed on the person who is responsible for the mass medium in question.

Article 6. Manipulation of news. Any person that manipulates or distorts the news, thus generating a false perception of the facts or creating a mindset among society, so long as such action has damaged the social peace, domestic security, public order, and public health or public morality, shall be punished with two to four years of imprisonment.

A similar penalty shall be imposed on the person who is responsible for the mass medium in question.

Article 7. Refusal to disclose information. Any director, manager, editor, or person responsible for any mass medium who refuses to unveil the identity of the author of any journalistic broadcast or article published under a pseudonym or anonymity when requested to do so by the Attorney General Office shall be punished with six months to two years of imprisonment.

Article 9. Media coercion. The director, manager, editor or person responsible for a mass medium who uses such a medium to threaten, intimidate, coerce, or instill terror in other people in any other manner shall be punished with one to three years of imprisonment.

Article 10. Failure to provide information. The owners, directors or persons responsible for a mass medium who willingly and without any justification refuse to report on facts or situations whose lack of dissemination may harm the right to information provided for under Article 58 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall be punished with two to four years of imprisonment.

Article 11. Solicitation to commit a crime. Any person who, on any mass medium, makes any publication or broadcast intended to promote war, violence, hatred, or hostility among the people or community on the grounds of race, sex, religion, nationality, ideology or political affiliation shall be punished with two to four years of imprisonment.

A similar penalty shall be imposed on the person who is responsible for the mass medium that disseminates or broadcasts such messages.

Article 12. Obstruction of communication media activities. Any person who, by means of coercion, violence, threats, deception or bribery, hinders or prevents the free operation of any mass medium, whether public or private, thus harming the right to accurate, timely and impartial information to which all the citizens are entitled shall be punished with one to three years of imprisonment.

Article 13. Exemptions. The persons responsible for the mass media shall not be held liable for the crimes provided for under this law in connection with the comments accidentally made by any persons that may be taking part in live broadcasts, including the participation of the public, so long as the person who issued the message has been warned that such action may be in contravention of the law.

The persons responsible for the mass media shall also be exempted from criminal liability in connection with the opinions expressed by the lawmakers while performing their functions, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Article 14. Accompanying Penalties. In the event that the person responsible for a mass medium is convicted under a final judgment for a media crime, he shall cease to be the person responsible for the mass medium in question during his time in prison. During that same period, he shall be disqualified for holding any leading executive position in other mass media.

Regarding a national independent producer, his license as national independent producer shall be revoked, as an accompanying penalty to the penalty imposed in connection with the media or communicational crime.

Article 15. Publication of the guilty judgment. The judge hearing the case shall order publication of the final judgment in connection with a media crime one single time, at the expense of the person convicted and on a preferential space in the editorial page of the relevant printed mass media or broadcast on prime time on the radioelectric mass media where the crime was committed, within the seven (7) following referral. Such publication or broadcast shall take place without any comments, annotation, inserts or any other kind of comment.

Article 16. Other responsibilities. The penalties imposed under this law do not exclude any further reasonable administrative proceedings that may be brought against the mass medium or the person responsible for it, pursuant to the provisions contained in the Radio and Television Social Responsibility Law, Law on Telecommunications and other laws governing the matter.

Article 17. Referral. On all matters not covered by this law, the provisions contained in the Book One of the Criminal Code shall apply, and in connection with the proceedings the rules of the Organic Code on Criminal Procedures shall apply, as this is the regulation governing criminal proceedings.

[Zorro]

1. I dare you to post this in General Discussion

I double dog dare ya.

[Bacchus39]

2. I did!!! and quite a bit earlier in the day.

it was off the first page 3 hours ago. not much defense for this one!!

[Zorro]

4. It's somehow made it back to the first page

Interesting reading.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Pure rightwing crap from El Universal

which you boys seem to eat it up.

[Zorro]

6. Got an alternative translation?

[Downwinder]

3. Sounds pretty reasonable,

Why don't you put a rider on it to institute the death penally tor corruption like China and send it to Washington to be submitted.