The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that it is preparing a draft of the media monopolization prevention and diversity preservation bill, but that it would not relax restrictions on the funding of media outlets by the government, political parties or the military without consulting public opinion.
The bill is aimed at ensuring the public’s freedom to access information and to express their opinions as well as preserving the independence, professionalism and cultural diversity of news media, commission Chairwoman Nicole Chan (詹婷怡) said.
“We plan to present the draft bill for public discussion near to the start of the next legislative session,” she said.
Photo: Chen Ping-hung, Taipei Times
The commission is considering creating a public fund to finance the production of broadcasting content, Chan said, adding that the regulations governing the allocation of the fund would be stipulated in the draft bill.
She said that the details of the fund would be disclosed after further discussions.
The commission plans to prioritize communication and discussion with the public, and has no immediate plans to relax the regulations on investment in media outlets, Chan said
“We have not set a timeline on when to start resolving these issues,” Chan said, adding that before the commission can tackle the issue it might have to amend the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法) the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) and the Cable Radio and Broadcasting Act (有線廣播電視法).
The three acts stipulate that the government, political parties and the military are banned from investing in media outlets.
The ban prohibits even the holding of a small number of shares in a publicly traded media company.
Under current regulations, if a media outlet receives investment from a banned source, the outlet is punished rather than the investor.
The commission understands that the media industry needs a substantial amount of funding to produce quality content, Chan said.
However, the commission plans to ensure that resources are properly channeled into the industry, she said, adding that the commission would proceed cautiously.
“There were discussions over relaxing regulations when the three broadcasting acts were amended last year. The talks showed that people tend to agree that investment from the government should be limited to a certain percentage. We plan to build on those interactions by seeking more input from the public,” she said.
The commission is scheduled to arbitrate on a dispute between cable channels agents and cable system operators over content authorization fees.
The commission recognizes that the market determines pricing schemes, but operators must be unable to corrupt market mechanisms by unfair competition, Chan said.
“The dispute is over whether agents for channels can ask for a minimum guaranteed fee regardless of the number of subscribers a cable system operator has. The key is whether the cable system operators or cable channel agents have abused a customary business practice to compete unfairly,” she said. “Based on the ruling of the Fair Trade Commission and what we have seen so far, it is very possible that the cable channel agents used a customary practice to their own advantage.”
The draft of the proposed act would also include regulations governing mergers of and competition between media outlets, Chan said.
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