Aim: Control the Media in Emergencies and Elections, Last-Minute Clause Restored to Broadcasting Law

Ahead of the final votes on the Broadcasting Law, an unprecedented clause was restored to the draft overnight, expanding the authority of the prime minister and the head of the Shin Bet to issue instructions to news channels during emergencies and even during election periods. The anti-democratic move joins a series of flaws in the controversial reform promoted by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, against the position of professional officials and amid harsh criticism over damage to the independence of the media.

Just before the second and third readings vote on the Broadcasting Law, a clause that had been removed from the bill was returned overnight, between Wednesday and Thursday, and is intended to allow the prime minister and the head of the Shin Bet to give instructions to news channels during emergencies, including during elections. An app that also works on Shabbat and pornography, the split in the law to weaken the media, and protections for minors were also removed, the chaos and failures behind the split in the Broadcasting Law.

Throughout the process, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has insisted that the media reform is meant to remove regulation and open the market to competition, not to control it. But the clause that was removed and then restored at the last minute includes an amendment concerning the authority of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in consultation with security officials, to issue "instructions to media organizations." The clause had applied to platforms dealing with infrastructure during emergencies, and now, in an unprecedented move, they are seeking to apply it to channels broadcasting news.

Votes on the Broadcasting Law are expected to take place today and on Sunday in the special Communications Committee chaired by MK Galit Distel-Atbaryan (Likud), with Karhi aiming to pass the law before the current Knesset is dissolved and elections are called. The clause in question was deleted and is being brought as an objection at the committee's request, depending on the opinion of security officials. Given that this is a complex and far-reaching reform that includes complicated clauses and requires many professional discussions, with a significant part of it being advanced in total opposition to the professional level, Karhi brought the law's split to the Knesset for approval in order to pass at least part of the proposal, which benefits channels close to Netanyahu and harms the free press.

This comes as the committee debating it continues to see clashes between the opposition and the coalition over clauses added at the last minute. The effort to approve the law continues with renewed intensity despite the flaws and legal difficulties it raises, but Karhi asked to split it in order to set facts on the ground and claim a political achievement before the elections. The minister boasted that this was a mission assigned to him by the prime minister, even though Netanyahu himself is in fact barred from intervening in the media market under the conflict-of-interest arrangement he signed in 2020.