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Friday 15 Nov 2024
LOCAL EDITION
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LOCAL EDITION
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu speaking to the press: New bill seek to form a new commission by merging Broadcasting Commission and Media Council and introduce separate fines to journalists capped at a maximum of MVR 10,000.
A bill was submitted to the Parliament on Wednesday which seeks to form a new commission by merging Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) and Maldives Media Council (MMC) and introduce separate fines to journalists capped at a maximum of MVR 10,000.
The bill proposed to incept a new legislation under the name ‘Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission Act’.
The bill was submitted to the Parliament by Thulhaadhoo MP Abdulla Hannan Abdul Aboobakuru who was elected independently.
The President will form ‘Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission’ once the legislation comes into force. In this regard, the Commission will have legal autonomy and thus will be able to file and receive lawsuits in their name and conduct transactions in their name.
Once the legislation comes into force, the Maldives Media Council Act which governs news publications will be repealed alongside articles three to 18, 20 to 37 and 42 to 45 of the Broadcasting Act.
This will effectively dissolve MMC and MBC, including the following posts:
Although these posts will be dissolved, the staff working at MMC and MBC will be shifted to the new commission once the legislation comes into force.
As per the bill, the new commission will comprise of seven members; four appointed by the president with parliamentary approval and three appointed by media outlets. The three members will be appointed by a vote held among registered broadcasters and media outlets that have been in operation for five years and journalists working at such establishments.
The President is empowered under the bill to appoint a president and vice president to the commission.
The bill states a five-member interim committee will oversee the operations of the commission until members are appointed to the commission following its inception.
The bill also stipulates the standards that journalists and other individuals working in broadcasting and media should adhere to. They are:
The new commission has been bestowed a great number of responsibilities under the law. In this regard, the commission will be mandated to formulate a code of conduct for media outlets and journalists following consultations with these parties.
Apart from this, the commission will be mandated to formulated and maintain a register of journalists and editors, issue broadcasting and frequency license, register news publications and monitor content publicized by media outlets. Further responsibilities of the commission include developing the journalism field and issuance of press cards for journalists accredited by the commission.
The commission will also have the power to find media outlets for violations of code of conduct, withhold license and demand apologies.
In this trajectory, a media outlet can be fined between MVR 5,000 and MVR 50,000 for violations of the code of conduct. Journalists can separately be fined between MVR 5,000 and MVR 10,000 for such violations.
As per the bill, it is aimed at promoting and developing press freedom in the Maldives and setting forth standards and policies that need to be followed by journalists and other individuals working in media to ensure they are exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights responsibly. It is also aimed at introducing relaxed and robust policies for registering news publications that conform to times and creating a separate regulatory body to oversee both broadcasting and media.
