The absence of a law regulating online media in Bosnia and Herzegovina makes the country's public opinion vulnerable to misinformation and hateful narratives. Democratic processes are equally threatened.

 

In BIH, 80% of the population receives information from secondary sources, which highlights the structural vulnerability of the media system globally, warned Siniša Šešum, the Head of the UNESCO office in Sarajevo, at a workshop on managing digital platforms and online media in BIH. The task before us, as he states, is to create a fair and secure informational Internet environment where harmful content is regulated while also protecting freedom of expression.

 

The Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Edin Forto, also highlighted the lack of transparency in online media ownership, noting that specific portals are not associated with newsrooms, but instead operated by a single person or a group of individuals who create and disseminate disinformation and/or conduct campaigns targeting political opponents.

 

The assistant director for broadcasting from the Communications Regulatory Agency, Amela Odobašić, reminded that the Working Group for the draft law on media ownership transparency already exists and offers solutions, but that the real problem is a non-holistic approach to the problem, i.e., the absence of other necessary laws. She also emphasized the need for a state strategy regarding online media, which would regulate the body responsible for addressing this issue.

 

 

According to the suggestions of the participants, the bodies that could regulate online media in BIH are the Press Council, RAK, or the formation of a new, separate Agency.

 

However, the legal advisor at the UN OHCHR, Lejla Gačanica, pointed out the danger that, if the state does regulation, we will have draconian laws and a political approach like the one in Republic of Srpska, and that regulation should not be done by the Press Council or RAK since, as she states, they are political institutions.

 

Mrs. Odobašić emphasized that RAK, without additional finances and resources, indeed cannot manage the online space in BIH effectively, and that transferring this role to RAK would be merely a formality, not a solution.

 

To mitigate the risk of state or political repression, Tijana Cvjetićanin, the program director of the "Why not?" Association, reminds us of the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation.

This concluded that no single body could regulate alone, and that the most effective and safest approach for everyone is co-regulation.

 

Those present also emphasized the importance of including intergovernmental institutions in the planning and creation of laws governing the management of digital space and online media in BIH. On that occasion, UNESCO and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) expressed their readiness and willingness to collaborate in the coming period on the adoption and harmonization of online regulations in BIH, in line with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA).

 

During the presentation of regional research on existing legal frameworks concerning the management of social platforms and online media, Anida Sokol, a researcher at the Mediacenter in Sarajevo, highlighted a notable success in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the formation of the Coalition for Freedom of Expression and Content Moderation. The coalition serves as the representative of citizens of BIH in contact with large social platforms, such as Meta. In other countries of the Western Balkans, this communication is not formalized either through the governmental or non-governmental sector.

 

From the Coalition for Freedom of Expression and Content Moderation in BIH, Maja Ćalović emphasizes the importance of its role in establishing communication between the BIH population and large social platforms, which regard it as a critical interlocutor. But, as stated by Mrs. Ćalović, this is the success and contribution of civil society, and it is necessary to involve other actors in this phase.

 

From the "Why not?" Association, Maida Ćulahović concluded that this coalition practice could also be applied in other countries of the Western Balkans, since all countries, like BIH, are small markets and large social networks do not experience them as essential clients.

 

That is why, as she points out, the coalition, with the support of already internationally recognized organizations such as UNESCO, the UN, is an important actor and the platforms themselves. The additional potential of the Coalition is to be used as an educational platform for the media, legislators, governmental, and non-governmental sectors.