Chamber Of Deputies Tacitly Adopts Bill On Audiovisual Broadcasting

05.18.2011 By Ioana Tudor

The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday adopted tacitly a bill amending the Law on audiovisual broadcasting.

The bill, put forward by democrat liberal MPs Raluca Turcan, Cezar Preda, Doinita Chircu and Brindusa Novac, makes significant changes to the fines the National Audiovisual Council (CNA) may give to radio and TV stations.

According to the bill, stations breaching the articles of the Law on audiovisual broadcasting regarding "the protection of private and family life, of home and correspondence," "the right to image, the protection of dignity, honor and reputation," "presumption of innocence and the protection of the right to a fair trial" may be fined between 60,000 lei (about EUR14,600) and RON200,000 by CNA.

The bill also requires TV and radio stations to abide by rules on "transparency of organization, operation and financing," or face fines between RON10,000 and RON200,000.

It also bans the broadcast of "entertainment shows such as candid camera or pranks targeting private life." Audio/video recordings destined for entertainment programming must meet two requirements: avoid causing annoyance or suffering, and have the written consent of the subject.

The Senate is the deciding chamber for this bill. (EUR1=RON4.1051)