Page 112 - SAMENA Trends - May-June 2022

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Liberty Latin America Gains Regulatory Approval for Claro

Liberty Latin America (LLA) has received regulatory approval to
proceed with its US$200 million acquisition of America Movil unit
Claro Panama, a move that forms an entity with over half of the
market share in the country. BNamericas reported, that the next
phase of the acquisition will be the fulfilment of certain conditions
between both Liberty and America Movil. The acquisition prompted
rival Digicel to exit the Panamanian market by liquidating its local
unit, stating that due to the merger of its rivals competition has been
stifled. LLA and America Movil will have a market share of 56% in Latin America CEO Balan Nair said in a May earnings call: "With
Panama, reported Reuters. The acquisition did not look in doubt as our acquisition, we moved from a four-player market to a three-
LLA cleared an earlier regulatory hurdle with Panama’s Consumer player market, and that was necessary for Panama," reported
Protection and Competition Authority (Autoridad de Proteccion BNamericas.
al Consumidor y Defensa de la Competencia, ACODECO). Liberty

Registration Mandatory for OTT Platforms

The information and broadcasting ministry has drafted a guideline, Providing and Operation and Display of Advertisements Guidelines
making registration mandatory for national and foreign online 2021 becomes effective. The guideline bans video streaming of
streaming platforms to continue their operation in Bangladesh. any program or advertisements using internet or other technology
The ministry drafted the guideline and submitted it to the High in the country without having any registration. An OTT registration
Court on Monday to comply with its directive issued in January seeker will have to deposit a bank draft or pay order of Tk 5 lakh to
2020 after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by the ministry along with the application while the requirement for a
Supreme Court lawyer Md Tanvir Ahmed. A bench of Justice JBM foreign applicant is a bank draft or pay order of Tk 25 lakh along with
Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil asked the government to update the application. The applicants are required to mention, especially
the court on October 19 about the next development on the draft in their applications, the purpose of operating an OTT and what
guideline. The court, on scrutiny of the draft guideline, observed types of content they intend to stream. The information ministry, on
that if any citizen felt aggrieved at any rule of the guideline, she or scrutiny of the applications, would send them to the home ministry
he could come before the court challenging the legality of the rule. to get security clearance certificates while the applications filed
The guideline prohibits streaming talk-shows or news except live by foreign nationals would be sent to the foreign ministry for
or recorded programmes of authorized television channels. The getting security clearance certificates. Once the registration with
ministry has defined the contents for streaming outlets, popularly the information and broadcasting ministry is done, the applicants
known as OTT — over-the-top — platforms in the guideline. Various would have to update their registrations every three years with the
entertainment programmes, dramas, cinemas, documentaries, payment of Tk 3 lakh for a national applicant and Tk 10 lakh for
fictions, nonfictions, sport events, docufictions, infotainment — a foreign applicant. The draft guideline is needed to prevent the
also called soft news — advertisements, videos on demand, live posting of immoral video contents to streaming platforms and to
or recorded contents of authorised television channels except impose value added tax on all streaming platforms for running
news or talk-shows have been defined as OTT contents, according their business, said Tanvir Ahmed, who filed the writ petition to
to the guideline. It prohibits streaming such contents that oppose regulate the OTT contents. Reza-E-Raquib Khandaker, appearing
the liberation ideology, disrupt communal harmony, threaten the for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission,
order and integrity of the state, oppose existing laws of the land, told New Age that the BTRC had earlier submitted a draft guideline
negate national culture and damage social value. It also prohibits titled ‘Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
streaming contents which disrespect the national anthem, the Regulation for Digital and Social Media Platforms 2021’. The BTRC
national flag, the fundamental principles of the state policy draft guideline, which had mandated registration for social media
and the spirit of the War of Liberation. The guideline bans OTT platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, to operate within the
platforms from streaming contents which stimulate sexual urge country, drew flaks from right defenders. Under the regulations,
among children, harm religious sentiment, encourage extremism, the commission had prepared a stringent code of conduct that
communalism, disrupt stability in society and state and the would be mandatory for the users of these platforms. Besides, the
contents which have been banned by courts in judgements or by commission had also made it a must for the social media platforms
the state with laws. As mandated in the guideline, national and as well as other online public platforms to take measures against
foreign steaming platforms will have to apply to the secretary of the users in case of violation of the code of conduct. The measures
the information and broadcasting ministry for registration in the of that draft guideline had included blocking contents as well as
prescribed form of the ministry under the Broadcasting Policy users for the violation of the code of conduct.
2014 until the draft Content-based Over-The-Top (OTT) Service

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