Committee passes media bill with amendments amid protests from journalists

The Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee passed the media bill after making several amendments on Monday, despite protests from journalists gathered at the committee room reiterating their demand for the withdrawal of the controversial legislature that seeks to replace the existing self-regulatory system with a government-controlled commission.

On August 18, Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Aboobakr, an independent lawmaker aligned with the government, submitted a bill that seeks to dissolve the Maldives Media Council (MMC) and the Broadcasting Commission of Maldives (BroadCom), replacing them with a single regulatory body — a seven-member Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission (MMBC), composed of four members elected by the media and three appointed by the President of the Maldives with parliamentary approval, with the President also given the authority to appoint the commission’s head. It also empowers the MMBC to impose major penalties against media outlets as well as individual journalists, including during the investigative stage.

The bill, widely panned by both local and international journalism groups, is openly backed by the PNC administration. Both international and local media rights groups, as well individual media outlets and journalists have demanded the withdrawal of the bill.

Journalists have been protesting since the bill was introduced, calling for its repeal. Daily, journalists enter the parliament to monitor the bill's progress. Earlier, during a government meeting with media outlets to gather their views, all expressed concerns and demanded its expulsion.

The committee began working on the media bill on Monday, declared it passed, and adjourned at 16:45.

On behalf of the government, Kelaa MP Abdullah Shareef proposed several amendments to the bill. When put to a vote with the amendments, the bill passed with the votes of the PNC members present in the committee.

However, the committee concluded the vote without announcing the results.

Monday's committee session, attended by a significant number of journalists and civilians, erupted into chaos when the committee moved to vote on the entire bill with amendments. Galolhu South MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem, a committee member, also voiced concerns that the bill could not be passed without considering a petition signed by 151 journalists opposing it.

Pnc ge Majilis Member Imran Latheef majileehuge thakehchah gellun dheefi#CtrlBillBeyrukurey pic.twitter.com/GrxEULk6Ez

— Muzayyin Nazim (@tedmaldives) September 15, 2025

Meekail stated that government members claimed the bill had passed, but argued it was not passed in accordance with the rules. He noted that the vote against the bill was not taken, only votes in favor were recorded. Meekail further pointed out that the rules require the announcement of vote results, which the committee chairman failed to do.

However, PNC members on the committee insisted the bill had passed and would be placed on the agenda for Tuesday’s parliamentary sitting.

The committee reconvened at 17:00, where it was decided that votes against the bill had been moved when the committee concluded earlier. Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau successfully moved that the petition filed by journalists had been addressed with the passed amendments.

Following this, committee chairman Hussain Riza Adam stated that prior to the committee's initial conclusion, he had twice called for a vote from members who did not wish the bill to pass. Riza announced that the bill was assumed to have passed unanimously, as no members had cast dissenting votes.

While the Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee passed the media bill on Monday, an extraordinary session was scheduled for Tuesday. Therefore, the media bill is expected to be on Tuesday's agenda. However, the agenda for this session remains unknown as the parliamentary administration has not published it.

Earlier, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM), the MMC, BroadCom, and foreign press freedom organizations had expressed concern over the bill. These organizations described the bill as a 'destruction' of free press.

Meanwhile, the government continues to defend the bill. Pro-government MPs have maintained that the bill will pass at the committee stage after addressing journalists' concerns and that it will empower, not control, journalists.