Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili has said she would veto the law if it is passed by parliament but the ruling party can override the veto by collecting 76 votes.
I’m not sure which organizations the law is really aimed at, but it seems like it would mean that anyone in Georgia who wants to get involved with some international NGO — Amnesty International, Extinction Rebellion, Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, FSF Europe, or whatever — would be required to register as an agent of foreign influence.
A large threat to any sovereign nation is having a captured media by an unfriendly actor.
Exactly. It’s a fight between Pro-Russian and Pro-Western forces over media access. The Pro-Russian forces want to shove down the Pro-Western media and vice-versa. Which side you see as “unfriendly” depends on which side you personally are on.
I wouldn’t use “Pro US” here. We’re discussing Georgia and the E.U. is heavily involved so I think “Pro Western” is more accurate.
Regardless of that I don’t know that a list is necessary, the tilt involved in media is normally pretty apparent. Additionally while I can’t read the law myself I’m going to guess that there’s more to this law than simple list making. I’ll have to see if I can find an English or German translation in order find out.
Edit: As I suspected there’s a lot more to it than list making. I can’t read Georgian but if the ICNL is too be believed this legislation has a whole host of problems.
Can someone explain the problem with this? A large threat to any sovereign nation is having a captured media by an unfriendly actor.
I’m not sure which organizations the law is really aimed at, but it seems like it would mean that anyone in Georgia who wants to get involved with some international NGO — Amnesty International, Extinction Rebellion, Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, FSF Europe, or whatever — would be required to register as an agent of foreign influence.
In countries where the trust in public institutions is low, such laws are understood to be a tool that’s not going to be applied equally.
Exactly. It’s a fight between Pro-Russian and Pro-Western forces over media access. The Pro-Russian forces want to shove down the Pro-Western media and vice-versa. Which side you see as “unfriendly” depends on which side you personally are on.
But surely having a list of what media is captured is a good first step to stop either the pro-US or pro-Russian propaganda machines?
I wouldn’t use “Pro US” here. We’re discussing Georgia and the E.U. is heavily involved so I think “Pro Western” is more accurate.
Regardless of that I don’t know that a list is necessary, the tilt involved in media is normally pretty apparent. Additionally while I can’t read the law myself I’m going to guess that there’s more to this law than simple list making. I’ll have to see if I can find an English or German translation in order find out.
Edit: As I suspected there’s a lot more to it than list making. I can’t read Georgian but if the ICNL is too be believed this legislation has a whole host of problems.
https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/02.2023-Georgia-Draft-Foreign-Agents-Law-Summary-updated.pdf