April was rich in strategic events that might guide the development of Ukraine’s media and digital rights landscape in the near future. While the crux of it is the EU integration efforts on Chapter X (“Digital Transformation and Media”), the draft Civil Code was adopted in the first reading, and the move was heavily criticized by civil society organizations for its limitations on many civil rights. Martial law was extended for the 18th time, now until 2 August 2026, further extending the applicability of the special legal regimes in the Law on Media. The media regulator was relatively quiet, though it had issued an interesting decision on compliance with language quotas.
The most notable events happening in this period were:
- the adoption of the National Program for the Adaptation of Ukrainian Legislation to the Law of the European Union (EU Acquis), containing the timelines of Chapter X acts’ adoption;
- the publication of the Draft AI Strategy, which will guide the sphere’s development until 2030;
- new draft Civil Code’s adoption in the first reading, which may pose certain harms for journalists;
- the entry into force of the new rules on new language quotas for non-linear media.
This series of digests, produced with the support of International Media Support (IMS), provides an overview of the proposed and adopted legislation in the spheres of freedom of expression, media regulation, privacy and data protection, Internet regulation in general, and the activities of the National Broadcasting Council in the area of Media Law implementation.
As usual, the digest contains references to documents discussed in previous issues and provides follow-up on the acts and events described therein.
You can access the April 2026 digest here: Digest #34 – April 2026