YEREVAN. – The bill on Internet Public Announcement is put into internal circulation, and it aims to adjust the rules and regulations for making online public announcements, Azg daily writes.    

“The proposed draft law deals yet another blow to the freedom of [Armenia’s] media, specifically of print media. Pursuant to the bill, a public announcement must be posted ‘also on the web.’ [And] The www.azdarar.am, Armenia’s official website for public announcements, is being created to that end. The sad thing is that the authorities are making use of the opportunity, this time as well, to create an unlevel playing field for the media. A fee is set for [posting] a public announcement on the website, and it is considerably lower than the current market price of the announcement being printed in print media. [So,] We have an unfair competition between the official website and the private newspapers, which is impermissible,” Azg writes.