Roberto Pereira on media content control bill: ‘This is an unreasonable and offensive measure’

Lawyer Roberto Pereira this Friday called a parliamentary bill aimed at controlling media content “disguised as good intentions and bad means.” This is after the initiative establishes the allocation of 40% of its programs to the dissemination of folklore, national music and series or programs related to history, literature, culture and national reality.

In an interview program Things as they are from RPP TV, Roberto Pereira He argued that Bill 2170, which amends the Artists Act and the Radio and Television Act, implies “indiscriminate solicitation of content” and violates Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights.

“40% of certain content, namely folklore, national music, new music, is not very well known what this expression means. Also, I speak indiscriminately because the nature of the broadcast is not taken into account. broadcasting, which is devoted, for example, to news, then the imposition of this content implies its distortion in 40% of its programs and in prime time with a measure that has no basis, I would say offensive, and this qualifies as a kind of indirect control, which is prohibited by Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which authorizes and prohibits disproportionate use by states of the power to regulate radio frequencies,” he said.

No excuse

Roberto Pereira recalled that the Peruvian Radio and Television Law provides for a number of mechanisms for the promotion of culture, national music and folklore. However, he doubted that the state had not developed and implemented the application of this rule into policy.

“The Radio and Television Act itself distinguishes between commercial radio stations, educational radio stations and community radio stations. And this is done precisely so that radio stations of this type distribute their programs to spread local issues, cultural issues, educational issues and commercial radio stations on their channels. which is basically the essence of their programs, which are governed by freedom of the press, freedom of speech and information. Then there is a provision in the Law on Radio and Television according to which the state reserves certain radio frequencies precisely so that the state can fulfill this role. spread of culture. Then he has radio stations like Radio Nacional del Perú, channel 7 that broadcast this cultural content,” he explained.

In this sense, Roberto Pereira He argued that there was “no need” or justification for imposing 40% national music and folk content on programs.

“Weaken freedom of speech”

Roberto Pereira He confirmed that we have non-democratic politicians in Congress who constantly influence and have a negative impact on freedom of expression. This explains, he argues, that the project to control the media is part of the logic of intervening in the media in order to achieve certain social goals in which a certain political sector is interested.

“Not realizing that in doing so they are weakening freedom of expression by trying to impose content on the media,” he said.

For Roberto Pereira, The thermometer for measuring “truly democratic and liberal convictions” in the sense of the validity of fundamental rights is freedom of speech.

“And these actors, when it comes to freedom of speech, are clearly authoritarian, clearly totalitarian, because they constantly insist on punishing freedom of speech, on reducing the amount of freedom of content in the media, on saying who can be a member and who No. To be a shareholder in a communication medium. You have established a series of quotas, mandatory training. All he is doing is dismantling the law on protection and guarantees, which has been created for many years to protect precisely freedom of expression, insofar as it is understood that freedom of expression is essential to a democratic system. That is, by affecting freedom of expression, you affect the democratic system, because you devalue public debate, which by its very nature should be free,” he said.

Legislative Initiative 2170 – promoted by Congressman Alex Flores (Peru Libre), that there is already a conclusion approved by the commissions for culture and transport and communications; and awaiting consideration at the plenary session – proposes to amend the Law on Radio and Television, as well as the Law on Performing Artists, arguing this by “promotion of national music, art and culture.”

Said device also states that half of the said percentage must be “emerging music” and that “it does not exclude themed or specialty stations”.

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