Free Media Act

Free Media Act

Osolian law passed by Assembly
Osolian Assembly
Introduced by	Hydrogen
Dates
Presented to the Assembly	19 June 2024
Commencement	20 June 2024
Other legislation
Amended by	Fun and Satire Act
Status: Amended
History of passage through the Assembly
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Free Media Act is a law in Osolia, passed by the Osolian Assembly with 88% approval. The act introduces a way to establish news organizations which can publish in the Osolian Discord. It is based on a similar bill from the Republic of Melonia.

Background

After some previous brief discussions of such a law, during the June 2024 Osolian general election, Chief candidate Hydrogen proposed the title "Free Media Act" in his campaign manifesto "Building a new Osolia: Agenda 2024". In this manifesto, Hydrogen wrote that the act would allow the creation of news organizations who would be able to publish to the Discord, held to account only by the Osolian Assembly, and not the Chief or their Council. Chief Michael Webb, running against Hydrogen, at first responded by stating that it was not necessary due to the government not limiting media in any way at that time. Despite this, however, it was later generally agreed that the government should create a law like this to allow media to publish in a proper, formal setting.

Following the election, where neither Hydrogen or Webb won Chief, but rather TriforceComet, Hydrogen decided to go ahead and compose a formal Free Media Act, presenting it on June 19, 2024, and the bill passed the next day and became law on June 20, 2024.

Provisions

Registration of news organizations

The Free Media Act requires news organizations who wish to formally publish on the Osolian Discord server to register with the Speaker of the Assembly directly. If they wish to disband, they must also contact the Speaker. After being founded, the Speaker will create a channel on the Osolian Discord server for the organization to post to. In addition to an organization being owned by the citizen that creates it, they can have editors on their organization, and those editors will be granted permission to post to their Discord channel.

Responsibilities of relevant authorities

It is the Assembly's responsibility to regulate media, and only they, by a majority vote, can enact penalties or judgements on news organizations, such as fines or even disbandment in extreme cases.

Citizens may also file lawsuits against news organizations who they feel have defamed or slandered them, however. A judge in this case will take the Assembly's responsibility of determining guilt and potential punishments as listed above.

All news content from the Chiefdom of Osolia itself are also subject to the same regulations.

Regulations of news content

These regulations only apply to news organizations that are registered and publish via the official Osolian Discord server.

It requires that all video content be published in 1080p full HD quality, that audio be at a comfortable volume and that background audio is not loud enough to cause issues in understanding the primary focus of the audio, and that audio is not distorted.

Additionally, it requires that text content maintain a consistent and high standard of spelling, grammar and tone, and that any kind of content remain knowingly truthful and should not attempt to mislead anyone, in addition to a ban on not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content.

Amendments

The act was amended by the Fun and Satire Act, which ensured satirical content could be published under the system, as such publications were legally questionable under the original text of the Free Media Act, as the organization could be sued for libel. Satirical content has to be marked in the channel's description as being satirical to qualify for the amendment's protections.