Business ombudsman statement regarding the Espreso, Priamyi and 5 Channel TV channels' appeal to the helpline

 In order to resolve this issue (taking into account the state of war and the current priority of information security), the Council chose to submit appeals to the state bodies responsible for information policy, namely to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting.

Both institutions responded with statements of not making any decisions to stop the broadcasting of these TV channels within T2 network. At the same time, the National Council, recalling the Resolution of the National Security Council "On the Implementation of a Unified Information Policy in Conditions of Martial Law" dated March 18, 2022, actually confirmed the existence of a "legal vacuum" in terms of the lack of criteria for television and radio organizations, according to which the 24-hour telethon "United news #UA razom" is required to be broadcast on the TV channels in question, and how, in such a case, these entities can participate in the production of the telethon on a parity basis. From the point of view of the National Council, these circumstances shall be eliminated by "the relevant and authorized entities, which should either make appropriate changes to the laws of Ukraine, or clearly define and properly transfer the necessary powers to the regulator in accordance with current legislation."

Business ombudsman Roman Vashchuk commented on this matter: "Implementation of a unified information policy in wartime is a conceptually correct step. However, it is important not only to implement the right ideas, but also to ensure their implementation in a correct manner. Therefore, among other things, we have recently sent a letter to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, in order to contribute to filling the gaps and finally legislate the basic principles of the operation of the 24-hour information marathon, including the development of common criteria for television and radio broadcasting entities that are obliged to broadcast the 24-hour information marathon in compliance with the Decision of the National Security Council, and the procedure for joining the telethon participants. We do hope that an out-of-court solution to this situation is still possible."