Registration of media as "foreign agents" not acceptable says OSCE media freedom representative

VIENNA, 16 November 2017 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed his concern about a series of measures by the United States of America and the Russian Federation requiring the media entities from other countries to register themselves as “foreign agents”.

This week, the United States Department of Justice required the production company working for the Russian broadcaster RT in the United States to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Yesterday, in an apparent response, the Russian State Duma amended its mass media legislation, allowing authorities to designate certain media outlets as “foreign agents”. According to the information available, on the same day, several media outlets with links to the United States, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, received a notification from the Russian Ministry of Justice informing them of a likely need to register as "foreign agents.”

Désir wrote to the authorities of both the United States and the Russian Federation asking them for the reasons behind the requirement that certain media organizations register under legislation concerning “foreign agents” in the respective countries. He also asked about the consequences of these requirements in terms of the ability of the concerned media and their journalists to freely work and report in the respective states.

Désir added that the requirements to register as “foreign agents” will obviously impose additional administrative burdens upon the concerned media organizations and would stigmatize them and their journalists. 

Désir recalled that the OSCE participating States have voluntarily committed, including through the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, to “[m]ake it their aim to facilitate the freer and wider dissemination of information of all kinds, to encourage co-operation in the field of information and the exchange of information with other countries, and to improve the conditions under which journalists from one participating State exercise their profession in another participating State…”

“Branding media entities as ‘foreign agents’ is a dangerous practice, as it can narrow the space for freedom of the media,” said Désir. He also expressed concern that the respective pieces of legislation, while originally designed for non-media actors, are now being extended to cover the media." Foreign Agent" legislation should not be for media. Registration of media as foreign agent is not acceptable.

The Representative said: “I call on both the United States and the Russian Federation to reconsider and refrain from requiring media entities to register as “foreign agents” and not take further steps.

While propaganda and disinformation are of serious concern, he noted that there are existing tools to address these as well as issues like biased and misleading information. Such tools include laws on defamation and privacy, rules on balance and accuracy in broadcasting, guarantees of the independence of media regulators, the support to a strong public service broadcaster with a special mission of providing quality information, support to professional and ethical journalism, emphasis upon the distinction between fact and opinion in journalism, and transparency of media ownership.

The Representative stands ready to offer his assistance to help both participating States, the Unites States of America and the Russian Federation, to solve this situation in line with their media freedom commitments.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. He provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.