The “Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation” bill, which was passed by the Independent Institutions Committee of the Parliament with amendments proposed by the government to address concerns, has been approved by the Parliament floor. The bill was submitted to the Parliament by Thulhaadhoo constituency’s independent member Abdul Hannan Abubakuru. After some journalists shared their concerns about the bill with the President, the government proposed amendments in consideration of these issues. The Independent Institutions Committee passed the “Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation” bill on Monday. As per parliamentary procedures, after the committee passed the bill, it was sent to the Counsel General to check for any conflicts with the Constitution or existing laws. The Counsel General has stated that there are no conflicts with the Constitution or any laws in the bill.
The committee report was presented to the floor during a special session held outside the regular session yesterday, and the bill was passed with the votes of 60 members of Parliament. Only one member voted against passing the bill. An MDP parliament member from Galolhu South constituency proposed two amendments to this bill. However, as the member’s name was called and they were removed from the floor at the time of voting, those amendments could not be presented. Four amendments proposed by Funadhoo constituency member Mohamed Mamdhooh on the floor were also passed.
On behalf of the government, Kelaa constituency member Abdullah Shareef proposed amendments to the bill. Among the important amendments he proposed, changes were made to Articles 17, 19, and 20 of the bill to exclude any role for the President in appointing and dismissing commission members, as well as in appointing the commission’s president. In Article 18, which outlines the qualifications required for members, the prohibition on holding a position in a political party was changed to not being a member of a political party. Article 41, which deals with standards for disclosing personal information, was amended to include respect for the personal freedom of the individual to whom the information pertains as a standard for disclosure, instead of the previous wording about not unjustly intruding into various parties’ personal freedom domains.
Article 67, which allowed for measures to be taken against individual journalists and media workers, was removed. The power given to the commission in Article 66(f) to temporarily revoke a media outlet’s registration as an administrative measure while investigating a case was also removed during the committee stage. Many other articles in the bill that raised concerns were also amended during the committee stage. The bill defines media as only registered media outlets. Therefore, it will not regulate any entities other than registered media. The bill has been described as one proposed to advance and develop the freedom of journalism in the Maldives, maintain press freedom, prevent the spread of false news, and establish guidelines for media and journalists to ensure responsible use of constitutionally granted rights.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated on various platforms that media should be entities that can operate independently. Media outlets were among the first groups he met after assuming office. In that meeting, he began working to understand and address the concerns of media outlets. As such, a certain percentage of the state budget has now been allocated for media. The government has also started work on developing a media village to solve the space constraints faced by media outlets.
