Russian Federation

[RU] Mass Media Act Amended Again

IRIS 2000-9:1/36

Fyodor Kravchenko

Moscow Media Law and Policy Centre

On 5 August this year, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, signed a new Act, adding two new paragraphs to Section 41 of the 1991 Zakon o sredstvach massovoj informazii (Mass Media Act), the second time this year that new prohibitions have been added to the Act (see IRIS 2000-7: 14).

New paragraphs 3 and 4 of Section 41 of the Mass Media Act ban the dissemination in the mass media of information that identifies, directly or indirectly, a juvenile offender or victim of crime officially recognised as such during a criminal investigation or court proceedings. The only exception to this ban applies if the minor and/or his/her representative (parent or guardian) gives permission for their identity to be published.