Debate on government proposal tightening ban on media ownership shelved

A debate in the lower house on a proposal to tighten the ban on media ownership by top politicians has once again been shelved until mid-June, the ctk news agency reported. Friday’s debate on the government-proposed draft was reportedly obstructed by the opposition ANO party, which asked for a recess until the end of Friday’s session. The party’s head Andrej Babiš owns a large share of the media market and the law would directly affect him.

The proposed amendment to the existing law prohibiting the country’s top officials from media ownership specifies that the law applies to the owner and beneficiary of the given media regardless of whether they have been placed in trust funds.