Today marked the second day of proceedings at the 12th BRAF Annual Meeting in Albania, organized by the Audiovisual Media Authority.
The 9 member countries of the Black Sea Broadcasting Regulatory Forum were joined today by a delegation from Kosovo, representing the Independent Media Commission.
Hate speech was once again the main topic of today’s meeting, which also included high-level representatives from the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).
Ms. Armela Krasniqi, AMA’s Chair; Mr. Ismat Sattarov, Chair of ACRA Azerbaijan; Mr. Denis Güler, Vice President of RTÜK; Ms. Theodhora Papadaki, Legal Expert at NCRTV; and Ms. Tinatin Tchatchukashvili from COMCOM Georgia presented concrete examples of the use of hate speech in their respective countries, highlighting the significant challenge faced by regulatory authorities in addressing this phenomenon, which poses a serious threat to our society.
According to Ms. Krasniqi, AMA’s Chair, punishment is not the most effective way to stop hate speech. She emphasized that media literacy is one of the ways to prevent this phenomenon at its roots and that education should start with parents in order to reach children.
In the second panel, representatives of the regulatory authorities from Armenia, Bulgaria, Moldova and Serbia focused on public awareness and education, as well as the international perspective on the regulation of online content.
Fighting hate speech remains a key objective in AMA’s daily work, an institution that, after implementing several legal amendments, is now in the process of transposing other important European acts, such as the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). It should be noted that the institution’s priorities include handling public complaints, monitoring and analyzing audiovisual content and promoting media literacy as a crucial investment in cultivating a well-informed audience.
