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Although, it was planned that the digital TV signal would start being delivered by the three public TV services in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA) on 29 September 2016, the beginning of this process has been postponed. The public broadcaster Radio-Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS) has asked that the deadline be prolonged until mid-October. The reason for the request is unknown. Representatives of the three public broadcasters and the Ministry of Communication and Transport stated that the reasons are technical and procedural and will soon be resolved. A Ministry statement states, “all technical...

On 1 August 2016, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a session in Sarajevo did not accept a renewed request by Social-Democratic Party (SDP) delegates to extend the collection of radio and television (RTV) tax through telecom operators after 31 December 2016. Republika Srpska (Serb Republic) delegates blocked the initiative, since they had previously requested that funds from the tax be redistributed in a different way among the state broadcaster and the entity broadcasters. The RTV tax is collected through landline bills, which citizens are...

On 19 July 2016, the Parliamentary Assembly of the House of Representatives failed to pass a proposed Act amending the Act on the Public Broadcasting system, which foresaw the collection of the TV subscription tax through electricity bills. Bosnia and Herzegovina is composed of two federal units (entities) - Republika Srpska and Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Three constituent peoples (Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats) make up 96 per cent of the population. For a law to be adopted, it is necessary for representatives of all three constituent peoples in the Parliamentary Assembly of the House of Representatives...

On 17 December 2015, the Council of the Communications Regulatory Agency (CRA) adopted a new set of by-laws on audiovisual and radio media services amending and replacing the previous set from 2011, when the provisions of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive were first introduced into the regulatory framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina (see IRIS 2012-1/9). This set includes rules on Audiovisual Media Services (Pravilo o audiovizuelnim medijskim uslugama), rules on Radio Media Services (Pravilo o medijskim uslugama radija), a Code on Audiovisual and Radio Media Services (Kodeks o audiovizuelnim...

On 5 February 2015, Narodna skupština Republike Srpske (the National Assembly of Republika Srpska - RS), one of the two entities comprising the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, passed a controversial new Act on Public Peace and Security. This happened despite numerous warnings from the opposition, human rights activists and watchdogs, media, NGOs and foreign embassies of the devastating effects it might have for freedom of speech on the Internet. The proposed provisions had been denounced for criminalising social media by allowing the authorities to fine or even imprison people who post offensive...