On 7 July, the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC), the regulatory body in the broadcasting and electronic communications field, dismissed allegations that the government’s proposed changes to the law on electronic communications were a threat to media freedom. 

The proposed bill would allow the commission to appoint its representative as a head of authorised entities in the electronic communications field if the entity refuses to pay a fine or enforce the decisions made by the commission. The representative will be able to run the entity for two years and will be accountable only before the commission. 

The opposition called the bill “draconian” and added that it would allow the government to interfere in the activities of media outlets prior to the upcoming autumn parliamentary elections. The Head of Georgia’s Journalist Ethics Charter Mariam Gogosashvili said that the bill, when adopted, may be ‘misinterpreted by the commission’ and it may appoint its representative (as a manager) to the regional broadcasters which are mobile and internet based

The Communication Commission said that the amendments are for the Law on Electronic Communications and concern mobile and internet providers. The amendments had nothing to do with media and broadcasting freedoms in the country.

A day earlier, the Coalition for Media Advocacy, a group of 10 local media watchdogs in Georgia, released a statement saying the state bodies are using levers against Netgazeti and Batumelebi – two related online media outlets based in Tbilisi and Batumi, respectively – to discredit quality media. The Coalition reiterated calls on the government to respect the work of the media and ensure an environment in which journalists and their respective outlets are not subject to “political attacks and discreditation”.

The  statement came a day after a web platform Media Critic founded by the Georgian GNCC published an article slamming Netgazeti and other media outlets as sources of “disinformation and fake news.” The GNCC, on the other hand, spoke of “double standards”, maintaining that some of the media and civil society organizations calling for Facebook ad transparency are themselves against transparency of broadcasters by fiercely opposing implementation of 2013 Law of Georgia on Broadcasting. 

On 3 July, the Media Advocacy Coalition also slammed the investigation launched by the Georgian State Security Service into an alleged act of sabotage in connection with a TV story aired by government-critical Mtavari Arkhi, as “a threat of censorship.” The coalition said the government’s attempts “to punish the media and exert control on it was inadmissible.” The Coalition spoke of an “alarming situation” for media freedom in Georgia. The watchdogs called for suspending the investigation into the TV story, recommending that the government bodies approach the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics or Mtavari Arkhi TV’s self-regulatory body to discuss the accuracy of translations and the content of the controversial media piece. 

Three more local civil society organizations, among them Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI), International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) and Human Rights Center (HRC) also called on the government to refrain from interfering in the independence of critical media and using criminal repressions against freedom of expression. Transparency International Georgia stated that discussing the issue of the alleged violation of professional standards by the media in the criminal context goes against internationally recognized media freedom standards and grossly interferes with the editorial independence of the media.

According to the story, medical staff and local authorities were allegedly offering money to residents of the southern, ethnic Azeri majority Marneuli Municipality so that they named Covid-19 as the cause of death of their family members or relatives. The Security Service said that the opposition-minded TV deliberately mistranslated Azerbaijani-language interviews and misinformed the public that aimed at inciting protests and hampering the smooth functioning of the government institutions and organizations.