Structural restrictions on the press

These call into question whether the media are free from political control at an institutional level. Restrictions can take the form of press laws which allow for government interference in the media, or which impose unwarranted restrictions on published content. All bodies with regulatory authority over the media, print or broadcast, should be fully independent of government. Processing of license applications should be open and transparent, with decisions about competing applications being made on the basis of pre-established criteria in the interest of the public’s right to know. In addition, the powers of broadcast regulatory bodies should be limited to matters relating to licensing and complaints.

Media monopolies are another way in which the right to receive information from a variety of sources is restricted. State broadcasting monopolies do not serve the public interest but then in some smaller markets, a monopoly newspaper may be the only way to provide access to local news. Rules on monopolies need to be carefully designed to promote plurality of content, without providing the government with an opportunity to interfere in the media.

Other examples of “structural censorship” i.e. use of economic measures by governments to control information, include preferential allocation of government advertising, government control over printing, distribution networks, or newsprint and the selective use of taxes.