Since gaining its independence in 1991, Estonia has developed an increasing media industry with a large number of print and broadcast channels for a country of such a small population of only 1.312 million inhabitants. As follows, our Estonian company formation advisors briefly describe how to open a media company in Estonia.
The media legislation in Estonia
In Estonia, the freedom of expression is granted by the Constitution. The legislative setting in this country for the media is a liberal one. There is no media law, print media is governed by a general legislation and there is no license, permit or registration necessary in order to open a newspaper.
Broadcasting in Estonia is ruled by the Broadcasting Act of 1994. The Act follows EU directives and is presently being revised according to the new EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Our company formation experts in Estonia can provide further details on the provisions of this Act.
Electronic communication in this country is legislated through the 2005 Act of Electronic Communication.
The public service broadcasting was further legislated in 2007 with a separate law, which establishes the functions and goals of the public service broadcaster, as well as imposing the regulations for the output quality.
Other laws which influence the press in Estonia and are of interest when opening an Estonian media company are:
• The Law of Obligations Act;
• The Copyright Act;
• The State Secrets Act;
• The Public Information Act;
• The Competition Act;
• The Language Act;
• The Advertising Act.
Licenses for media companies in Estonia
Media issues in Estonia are governed by the Ministry of Culture. It acts as a regulator for broadcasters, in the sense that it issues licenses and supervises the implementation of the Broadcasting Act.
The Ministry of Culture in Estonia also deals with copyright issues and supervises that media companies abide by the Act to Regulate Dissemination of Works Which Contain Pornography or Promote Violence or Cruelty. Our company registration advisors in Estonia can offer more information related to this law.
The public service broadcasting in Estonia is supervised by an agency appointed by the parliament, the Public Broadcasting Council.
If you want to open an Estonian media company, we invite you to get in touch with our company registration professionals in Estonia.