Regulations of audiovisual and interactive media are set in the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public (1996), the Law of Lithuanian National Radio and Television (1996) and the Law on Film (2002).
The principal law governing the audiovisual and interactive media is the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public. This Law sets up procedures of collecting, preparing, publishing and disseminating public information, establishes the rights, obligations and responsibilities of producers, media, journalists and institutions that regulate their activity, as well as operating principles of Press, Radio and Television Support Foundation.
The Law on the National Radio and Television (1996) establishes the procedures of governance, operation, funding, reorganisation and liquidation of Lithuanian National Radio and Television broadcasting company as well as its duties, rights and responsibilities.
By Resolution No. 342 of 29 March 2001, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania assigned the Ministry of Culture to carry out the functions of an institution authorised by the Government in the field of provision of information to the public. The powers of the Ministry in this field are defined in Article 45 of the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public.
The Ministry of Culture is one of the institutions responsible for the implementation of the Law on the Protection of Minors Against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information (2002). This Law establishes the criteria of the public information that has detrimental effect on minors’ physical, mental and moral development, the procedure of its publication and dissemination, and the rights, duties and liability of the producers, disseminators and owners of such information, as well as journalists and the institutions which regulate their activities.
Several articles of the Law on the State Language (1995) are related to the audiovisual and interactive media, e.g. Article 13 states, that the audiovisual programmes, motion pictures publicly shown in Lithuania must be translated into the state language or shown with subtitles in Lithuanian; and the article 22 requires that the mass media of Lithuania (the press, television, radio, etc.), all publishers of books and other publications must observe the norms of the correct Lithuanian language.
Comments are closed.