The Press Council of Kosovo and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) have accepted with concern the reports that the Committee on Local Government, Regional Development and Media of the Assembly of Kosovo has mentioned the possibility of regulating online content of media by the Independent Media Commission (IMC).
The PCK, as a self-regulatory mechanism representing print and online media, and AJK, as an organization representing journalists, oppose any attempt or initiative by anyone to include online media content as part of a regulatory mechanism by state institutions.
The PCK is the only mechanism in Kosovo that deals with the ethics of print and online media (newspapers, online media, magazines, news agencies) and constantly decides on complaints from citizens and institutions regarding violations of ethics by print and online media. .
Therefore, PCK and AJK strongly oppose any attempt and initiative to introduce the ethics of print and online media as part of the IMC law. Such initiatives are in glaring contradiction with the international rules of journalism and the spirit of journalism installed in Kosovo for some time now.
Each of the print media (online or print) should be held accountable for their actions before state bodies, based on relevant laws, but initially no one can better assess their ethics than the media themselves, or professionals of the field.
The PCK through the mechanism of control and evaluation of the ethics of the print media is recognized by the Assembly of Kosovo, through the Law on Defamation and Insult and the decisions that the PCK makes for the parties and the media are respected and highly valued by local courts in cases where they decide for defamation and insult.
Initiatives to control and evaluate ethics for print and online media by a state organization are harmful and do not help the media and journalists.