The government will require media outlets to register in a public registry that will detail information about their ownership and the public investments they receive, and which will be supervised by the CNMCand this will exclude the “pseudomedia“. The basic criteria will be developed by “experts and media professionals”, although the Executive has not detailed how and who will develop this filter. The Council of Ministers approves its Democratic Action Plan, which includes a reform of the laws of the right to honor and rectification ensure that “the courts can provide an agile and effective response to any false information published by pseudo-media”, an amendment to the Penal Code to eliminate the crime of religious crimes and insults against the State, and a thorough revision of the Institutional Advertising Law to verify the media audience measurement system, which will serve as a criterion in the dissemination of institutional advertising. In addition, it will require public administrations to publish annually, in a transparent and detailed manner, the investments they allocate to the media.
“We are working hand in hand with the European Commission,” the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, has repeatedly insisted, recalling that the plan approved by the Community Executive in 2020 served as inspiration for the preparation of the route that Moncloa will send to the Congress of Deputies for processing. The document describes 31 measures divided into three axes of application. On the shores of a lake, it regulates the quality of government information. Among the most notable actions is the obligation imposed on all public administrations (CCAA and City Halls) report and detail the degree of compliance with all and each of the measures promoted through its website. In addition, a reform of the State Secrets Act of 1968 is planned so that it adapts to the legislation of the rest of the countries around us.
The government is devoting more than a third of the plan to the media. In the document, it proposes to impose limits on public funding received by the media and will try to do so. put an end to “oligopolies” “media that prevent plural information,” said the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun. Specifically, the limitation criteria will be strengthened to approve the concentration of media of the same group. In addition, Moncloa is committed to reforming the so-called Gag law, ending sanctions against journalists who publish or broadcast images of the State security forces and bodies.
Finally, the strategy – which will continue to receive contributions from parliamentary groups – reserves a space dedicated to the electoral and parliamentary framework. It proposes a reform of the regulations of the Congress of Deputies to impose the holding of the Debate on the State of the Nation once a year. It will also impose the obligation on candidates to attend the electoral debates, “that there is no candidate who does not participate,” Bolaños insisted. In addition, the government will oblige the media that publish surveys during the electoral period to include the “microdata” of the survey, that is, the raw data, beyond any interpretation. “These surveys seem to have the aim of influencing the state of opinion,” denounced the head of Justice.
Concerning political parties, deputies and senators. The text calls for sanctions to be provided for parties that do not publish their annual accounts, and for parliamentarians who do not make public their declaration of assets. In addition, a law is in preparation entrance hallto regulate interest groups.
