Request for Telekom and REM to stop the illegal broadcasting of Informer and Kurir.

At the same time, an initiative has been submitted to the newly formed REM Council to take all necessary measures to establish a lawful state in the field of terrestrial broadcasting of programs. Organizations have called on the Council to initiate appropriate legal proceedings against responsible natural and legal persons who have grossly violated the provisions of the Law on Electronic Media by unlocking these channels.

Televisions Informer and Kurir have licenses for distribution via cable, satellite, and IPTV networks, but not for national terrestrial broadcasting.

By enabling these televisions to have national accessibility through the terrestrial network, Telekom Srbija has practically equated Informer and Kurir with televisions that have licenses for national broadcasting. In doing so, it has assumed a role that belongs to REM and effectively usurped the regulatory authority of that body, which is the only one competent to decide who can use the limited public resource – the radio frequency spectrum and the capacities of the terrestrial network.

This conduct is particularly problematic as it occurs immediately before parliamentary elections. Televisions Informer and Kurir have gained national reach in this manner, at a time when they report in a highly biased manner about representatives of the authorities according to all relevant monitoring, while reporting on representatives of the Student List in violation of all possible professional and legal standards.

By providing free national reach to certain cable channels, Telekom Srbija is abusing its dominant market position, directly discriminating against all other registered cross-border and cable channels, as well as against other media service providers who pay fees for regular national licenses. This has violated not only the Law on Electronic Media but also the provisions of the Law on Protection of Competition and the Law on Electronic Communications. Due to the absence of the legally prescribed fees for national broadcasting of programs, Telekom Srbija's decision directly harms the budget of REM itself, which is funded precisely from these fees.

Due to the potential consequences for media pluralism, equality of participants in the electoral process, and citizens' right to access diverse sources of information, as well as for the establishment of a lawful state in the provision of media services, we demand that Telekom Srbija and REM immediately investigate and halt the distribution of channels that do not have the appropriate license for terrestrial broadcasting. This will prevent irreparable damage to the fairness of the electoral process and the equality of participants, as well as ensure freedom of access to information in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

ANEM
Media Association
Association of Online Media - AOM
Autonomous Women's Center
Belgrade Center for Human Rights
Dugina Iskra
European Movement in Serbia
Civic Initiatives
GS KUM Independence
Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina – NDNV
Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia - NUNS
Partners Serbia
Business Association of Local and Independent Media "Local Press"
RERI
Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation
Association Krokodil
Biordi