Estonia
Estonia is a country that favours a free press and the development of its media and entertainment industry. Estonia’s media policy is considered to be in line with the European Union (EU) media policy and in 2021 Estonia ranked 15th in the world in the Press Freedom Index.
Estonian entrepreneurs have started a project to ensure artists fair and transparent remuneration for their creative work through a new music streaming platform, Fairmus. Several well-known Estonian artists have already indicated their support for the initiative with the objective of protecting the community of Estonian artists.
The Estonian chapter is available here; partner Mihkel Miidla and senior associate Kirsi Johanna Koistinen worked on it.
Latvia
The media industry in Latvia has won recognition of its rights and privileges in opposition to the state and individuals. Investigative journalists working online and in print, radio and television (TV) have done groundbreaking work to reveal serious violations and crimes. Public media, mainly owing to its digital presence, has been recognised as a legitimate, trustworthy and useful source of information. However, financial instability endangers its existence. Additionally, fake news, particularly, in terms of social networks, is an ever growing problem. These issues diminish the overall image of the media in the eyes of society. Another issue is Russian-language TV channels, originating in Russia, which often violate the limitations of freedom of expression, distribute hate speech or ignore other principles of a free and responsible media.
The Latvia chapter is available here.
The review for Latvia was compiled by our experts assistant lawyer Gunvaldis Leitens and partner Andris Tauriņš.
Lithuania
Lithuania is the largest media and entertainment market in the Baltic region. Television, radio and news websites are the most popular forms of media, whereas the consumption of print media is in line with the global downward trend. According to the official 2021 statistics, 82% of Lithuanians aged 16 to 74 use the internet (in the group aged 16 to 29, the figure reaches 99%).
In 2021, Lithuania ranked 28th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’
World Press Freedom Index.
The Lithuanian chapter is available here.
The review on Lithuania was compiled by counsel Stasys Drazdauskas
Belarus
The Mass Media Law defines an internet resource as a website, web page, forum, blog, application for a mobile device, or other information resource (or its component), located on the internet and used for mass media distribution. As a general rule, the Mass Media Law applies to internet resources. An internet resource may voluntarily register as an online edition and, consequently, be treated as a mass media entity under the Mass Media Law and its employees treated as journalists.
The Belarus chapter of the review is available here.
Belarus chapter is compiled by partner Kirill Laptev and associate Pavel Lashuk.
