A new law on advertising is expected to be adopted towards the end of this July. The bill drafted by media experts of the Independent Journalism Center Eugeniu Rybka and Ion Bunduchi was registered in Parliament by three Democratic MPs led by Andrian Candu. In an interview for Radio Free Europe’s Moldovan Service, Eugeniu Rybka said the bill will remove the danger of appearance of monopoles on the advertising market, IPN reports.
According to the expert, the current law on advertising is over 20 years old. It was adopted in 1997 and a lot has changed since then. A new law on advertising is necessary given that a number of provisions of the European legislation are to be transposed to the national legislation. Another argument refers the political advertising outside election campaigns, which is not regulated now. Social advertising is also covered.
“We all speak about an advertising market, but do not have official information about what advertising market means in general and on particular segments. For example, what advertising market means for TV channels, what advertising market means for radio stations, what is outdoor or street advertising. In this regard, the bill institutes particular obligations for the Competition Council concerning the ensuring of transparency on the advertising market. I think it is a first step. A second step is to implement the legislation on competition,” noted the expert.
As to the fact that political advertising in the period between electrons will be regulated, Eugeniu Rybka said such provisions were necessary for instituting a clear mechanism so that everyone becomes involved in the advertising sector in equal conditions. “At present, a political party can broadcast advertisements on a TV channel at the price of only 0.01 lei per minute. The same TV channel can refuse to broadcast political advertising for another political party or can charge exorbitant tariffs,” he stated.
Eugeniu Rybka said that if the bill is not adopted by the end of the current parliamentary session, there is a risk that everyone will enter the fever of parliamentary elections and this bill will be forgotten.
