Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? Neither media-specific nor corporate law reveal information on ownership of media outlets in Italy. Law No. 249 of 31 July 1997, which establishes the communication authority (AGCOM) and covers print, online and broadcast media, requires different levels disclosure depending on whether a media outlet is a registered company or not, with more stringent reporting requirements for those which are. For example the name and contact details of the owner only need be disclosed for media which are registered companies and more detailed information

Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? Despite the 2011 amendments to the Media Law, which covers print, broadcast and online media, it remains impossible to identify ownership of any media in Iceland through media-specific or company law. Although the amended Media Law requires disclosure of the immediate ownership of media organisations, much of the basic information required to establish ultimate ownership and control does not have to be disclosed – ie the size of shareholdings or those with indirect control, significant interests or beneficial ownership. The various corporate laws

Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? It is only possible to finds out who owns broadcast media in Georgia; this is through information reported to the media authority and directly to the public. The Law on Broadcasting requires broadcast media to disclose enough information on the size of shareholdings, beneficial owners and those with indirect interests and control, as well as ownership of broadcast media by offshore companies. Studies suggest that broadcast media ownership is now largely transparent in Georgia. This is in line with the media authority view

Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? It is possible to find out who owns broadcast media in Germany through the media-specific legislation. Media in Germany are regulated by the 16 federal states (or Länder). Broadcast media are regulated by the Interstate Treaty on Broadcasting and Telemedia (RStV) which sets out a legal framework that must be used by each of the 14 state media laws which cover the 16 federal states, thus ensuring consistency across Germany. Under these laws, the public can find out who the owners of broadcast

Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? In Cyprus it is not possible to identify owners of any kind of media through media-specific laws or through company law. The Press Law, which is largely based on Colonial British laws, is outdated and mostly inoperative with many provisions still criminalising offences. Under the Press Law, print media do not require have to disclose any information about shareholders, beneficial owners or those with an indirect interest. In reality, because Cyprus is a small society, almost everyone knows who owns the five main

Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? In Croatia, it is possible to finds out who owns print, broadcast and online media in Croatia through information reported to: the relevant media authorities; directly to the public; or to corporate /trade registers. Through the various amendments to the Media Law (2011) and the Electronic Media Law (2012), media must disclose enough information for their real owners to be identified right back to the individual, not just to a company. This includes information on the all shareholdings over 1%, disclosure of beneficial

Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? Owners of print, electronic and online media which are registered companies can be identified in Bulgaria but only through cross-referencing the disclosures under the relevant media law with those under the Company Registry Act. None of the laws are, on their own, sufficient to identify ownership; the Mandatory Deposition of Print and other Materials Act, which covers print and online media, does not require the size of shareholdings to be revealed so these need to be found in the Company Register; the Radio

Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? It is not possible to find out who owns the media Azerbaijan through media-specific or company law. Since June 2012, amendments to the Law on the Registration of Legal Entities, on Commercial Secrecy and the Law on Obtaining of Information mean that information about corporate owners and their shareholdings have been declared commercial secrets and deleted from public websites. Even without these amendments, it would not be possible to find out who owns the media since the provisions which regulate both print and

Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? According to the Media Act, as amended in 2011, it is possible to finds out who owns print, online and broadcast media through information reported directly to the public. All media must disclose enough information for their real owners to be identified, including information on all shareholdings, whatever the size, beneficial owners back to a real person and those with indirect interests and control. For periodical media, this should be done annually next to the “imprint” or masthead, for broadcast media it must