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LATVIA
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the
press, and the Government generally respects this right
in practice. The 1991 Press Law prohibits
censorship of the press or other mass media. Most
newspapers and magazines are privately owned.
Newspapers in both Latvian and Russian publish a wide
range of criticism and political viewpoints.
A large number
of independent television and radio outlets broadcast in
both Russian and Latvian, and the number of people
receiving satellite television broadcasts continued to
increase.
The Law on the
Media, revised in October, contains a number of
restrictive provisions regulating the content and
language of broadcasts. No more than 25 percent of
private broadcasts may be in languages other than
Latvian; in prime time, 40 percent of television
broadcasts must be of Latvian and 80 percent of European
origin. However, these provisions are not always
implemented. In addition foreign investment may not
exceed 20 percent of the capital in electronic media
organizations.
There are no
restrictions on academic freedom.
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