President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has on Thursday established a state agency by the name of Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission (MMBC), under Article 4 of the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Act.
The agency was created via the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Bill, which was ratified on Thursday.
A bill that facilitated the government to control the media was introduced in Parliament on June 18 by the government-affiliated Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Abubakr.
The government expressed its support for the bill upon its introduction to parliament, and was quickly reviewed and passed by the government’s supermajority parliament. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Dhiggaru Constituency MP Ahmed Nazim himself said he had participated in the study of the bill.
Journalists have been expressing concern about the bill since it was introduced. As the bill originally stood, three of the seven members of the media oversight commission (MMBC) and its chairman were to be appointed by the President. Later amendments transferred this power to the parliament.
The law also grants MMBC the power to cancel the registration of a media outlet and take action against individual journalists while the commission investigates reports.
Journalists are expressing concern that the bill contains provisions that will impede on press freedom and independent journalism.