Bill floats government-controlled media watchdog that could levy heavy fines

A plan by the communication minister to rework Israel’s media market will include vesting a government-influenced regulatory panel with the right to impose hefty fines on media outlets, according to a legislative memorandum.

Previewing the upcoming Communications Law (Broadcasting), the legislative memorandum is a necessary step ahead of submitting a ministry-sponsored bill.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said that the plan is intended to open up the media market to competition, and includes allocations of taxpayer money to sponsor the creation of new content.

Earlier in July, Karhi re-launched his plan to shutter media watchdogs and replace them with a government-appointed council imbued with the authority to levy large fines on news outlets. Among other initiatives, Karhi’s media revamp would create attractive policies set to benefit smaller stations, chief among them Channel 14, which is considered a pro-government outlet.

Both when initially introducing the plan in March and in recently announcing an upcoming bill to put it in action, Karhi said that he wanted to shutter the Second Authority for Television and Radio and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, two longstanding media watchdogs.

In their place, the communications minister is proposing to create a single, nine-member regulatory body, mostly chosen by politicians and with what Karhi described as minimal powers.

Three of the new members would be bureaucrats, two would be public representatives chosen directly by the minister, and three others would be chosen by a committee of representatives of the communications, education and justice ministers.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi presents his reform to the media market to journalists, in Jerusalem, July 17, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Media outlets in Israel have expressed concern about the independence of this new council, given that its appointments would be influenced by the government and that the council would functionally be nested within the Communications Ministry.

Primetime news giant Channel 12 ran a Wednesday evening report to slam the proposed regulator, and earlier this month, Channels 12 and 13, and public broadcaster Kan slammed Karhi’s proposals as an additional measure “to crush free press in Israel.”

“Implementation of this destructive plan, which includes government supervision and censorship of news as is customary in dictatorships, will lead to serious harm to Israeli democracy, freedom of expression and journalism in Israel,” the outlets said in a statement.

According to a legal memo distributed to the public on Monday night, the minister or the cabinet would be able to disband the new watchdog authority if the government does not approve of its council. While Channel 12 alleged that this is impossible today because the Second Authority and Cable and Satellite Council are independent authorities, the Communications Ministry pointed to a 35-year-old amendment to the Communications Law to argue the new bill would not change policy.

“Since 1986, the minister has had the authority to dissolve [these watchdogs]. So essentially there is no change,” a spokesman for the Communications Ministry told The Times of Israel.

Then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a Channel 14 conference in Jerusalem, October 23, 2022. (Yonatan SIndel/Flash90)

Another piece of the proposed bill drawing ire from established news networks is a provision that would give the new watchdog the power to issue fines for violating broadcasting standards, potentially amounting to millions of shekels.

The proposal sets a floor for fines at 1% of channel revenue, unless the justice minister approves a reduction.

Further proposals would benefit smaller channels and financially harm state broadcaster Kan.

Kan has been in the Likud party’s sights for years. Sources close to Karhi confirmed reports that the minister wanted to close down the public station when he assumed his role in December, but was thwarted by party leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Instead, Karhi is trying to force Kan to choose between being state-funded and competing in the private market. His proposal would block Kan from running radio advertisements, a significant blow to its income.

Karhi’s plan would not touch a second state-funded channel, Army Radio, because it is controlled by the Defense Ministry, not the Communications Ministry, an official for the latter ministry said.

Benefits accruing to smaller channels, chief among them Channel 14, include exemptions from needing a license to broadcast news, as well as from paying fees to distribution pathway Idan Plus.