Amendments broadening range of grounds for banning foreign media outlets in Belarus to take effect in 3 months

MINSK. July 6 (Interfax) - Amendments to the law on mass media, broadening the range of grounds for banning foreign media outlets and restricting access to websites in Belarus, will take effect in three months.

The respective document was published on the Belarusian national website of legal information on Thursday. "The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus shall take measures within three months to implement the provisions of this law," the document said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed the bill into law on July 1. The Belarusian presidential press service said it aimed to improve mechanisms of protecting national interests in mass media and to broaden the range of instruments for response to unfriendly actions against Belarus.

The law allows banning foreign media outlets for unfriendly actions against Belarusian mass media.

It also clarifies the specifics of functioning of news aggregators and the legal status of their owners. The range of grounds for revoking state registration of mass media and restricting access to websites, online publications and new aggregators is broadened.

The bill sets requirements to the activity of owners of websites, which distribute content of television and/or radio channels.