Media outlets have been given three days to remove negative comments about politicians and officials following the initiation of a court case.

Ukrainian online media will not be held liable for negative comments from readers if they remove them within three days of receiving a court ruling or complaint, as well as a directive from the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting. Bill No. 11321 was passed in its second reading by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on January 14.

The document clarifies the provision of part 4 of article 117 of the Law "On Media," which exempts online publications from liability for disseminating information specified in articles 36, 42, and 119 of this Law.

Entities in the online media sector must restrict access to such information within three working days from the moment they receive the relevant complaint, directive from the National Council, or a ruling on the initiation of the corresponding legal proceedings by the court.

It is important to emphasize that the current version of part 4 of article 117 has been amended to include a provision stating that media outlets must delete comments within three days from the date of receiving a court ruling.

The "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" analyzed a number of court decisions and noted that according to court rulings, a significant number of Ukrainian officials consider information with a negative connotation towards them to be false.

According to the principles of the presumption of good faith, information is considered false if the individual disseminating it has not proven otherwise. This raises the question of whether online media are now required to delete readers' comments alleging corruption or other negative actions by officials, journalists emphasize.

Let us remind you that the American The Washington Post lost over 200,000 subscribers due to its owner Jeff Bezos's decision not to support candidates for the U.S. presidency.

The National Council previously urged Ukrainian media to change their coverage style regarding mobilization and the work of TCC employees. Officials believe that this topic has a high degree of "spreading fakes from the enemy."