No bad news is good news. That's what a reported draft law regulating broadcast media might espouse. Mohamed El-Sayed writes on what's feared by critics to be a possible muzzle of the media A draft bill prepared by the Ministry of Information regulating audio and visual transmission has angered media and human rights groups across the board. Made up of 44 articles, the draft law, as disclosed last week by the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom, heralds the creation of the National Agency for the Regulation of Audio and Visual Broadcasting (NARAVB) which will regulate "all aspects related to broadcasting, especially its content and the distribution and receiving of transmissions". The proposed agency will also issue or withdraw licences of all visual and audio media, be they radio stations, satellite channels or websites inside Egypt. "The body places codes on the technical quality of programmes, information, advertising and financing of [media venues]," the draft law states. The agency will also set the rules granting licences to media venues, local or foreign, as well as for the quality of broadcasting performance. Its mission also includes "the creation and regulation of mechanisms necessary for the protection of the interests of the audience, producers and distributors of transmissions." According to the law, the proposed body will in addition "ensure maintaining technical and environmental standards of broadcasting and its content," in a way "proportional to the requirements of social values and social security." Therefore, it will monitor broadcasting services to ensure they meet quality specifications. In addition, the NARAVB will also "set the rules for importing, trading, manufacturing and assembling of devices used in broadcasting and receiving transmissions, whether coded or decoded." Punishment includes fines and prison sentences. Consisting of what would be 20 public figures appointed by the prime minister, the NARAVB will have a board that includes representatives of the government-run Egyptian Radio and TV Union, State Council, the National Security Authority, the Ministry of Interior, the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Finance, in addition to the minister of information. The board will also include four non- government experts in media, and two representatives of broadcast users. The proposed draft law has angered human rights organisations which expressed serious concern. "This is one of the most dangerous laws devised to constrain public freedom and classify Egypt as a tyrannical state," said a statement issued by the Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP). The statement criticised many of the articles of the draft, arguing that "a considerable number of the articles are vague... which will eventually lead to selective, tyrannical application." The statement added, "the NARAVB will serve as a security apparatus monitoring all Egyptian mass media and foreign media venues working in Egypt, including TV and radio channels, the e-mail, Facebook, and personal blogs." It also criticised the substantial authority given to NARAVB, which "helps it oppressing the media, frightening audio and visual broadcasters, and threatening journalists working in media venues." The law, according to the statement, will "pose a threat to media people, especially in the absence of an information accessibility law. This would also force media people to get prior consent from security and monitoring bodies before broadcasting news." The statement harshly criticised the article stating that "anybody who gives information or data about the activities of the NARAVB that ought not be released... would be sentenced to a month in prison." This further emphasises the security nature of the activities of the proposed body, the statement said. Fourteen human rights organisations signed a joint statement on Monday calling on the government to "start a dialogue among all forces and civil society on the bill". The statement argued that, "the Egyptian government has recently been pondering putting constraints on the media," arguing that "the passing of the bill will deprive people of the right to obtain information in a free way." Though Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab insisted the leaked copy of the draft law "is just an initial vision submitted by the Ministry of Information to the political and legislative ministerial group", the disclosure of the bill left media people apprehensive. Khalil Fahmi, director of the BBC Arabic Radio Cairo office, feels he cannot support the proposed law. "If it is meant to be a solid formula, media people must have a say in its formulation." Fahmi said the bill should be "clear, well defined, so as not to be abused arbitrarily [by authorities] should they seek revenge from a given radio or TV station." Nevertheless, some media people are supporting the idea of regulating broadcast media. Mohamed Salah El-Zahhar, Al-Arabiya TV anchor in Cairo, does not object to "regulating broadcasting", but believes the law includes "vague, unclear language". As for bloggers who have become a thorn in the authorities' side and are widely believed to be targeted by the proposed law, Omar Gharbiya, a well known blogger, believes the proposed law "would negatively affect blogging the same way as TV and radio channels. The existing penal code contains enough punishment for broadcasting violations, and the proposed law will intensify such punishment." Will the law silence bloggers who post anti- government material including torture cases in police stations, and who have organised days of civil disobedience? "Bloggers most probably will ignore the law if passed. It will be business as usual because no law would be able to silence them," said Gharbiya, who was tried for posting photos of a plant spewing fumes in Port Said. While some media experts support the regulation of broadcasting, many still have reservations about monitoring media content. "All broadcasting conventions around the world regulate only the procedure by which licences and frequencies are granted to media venues but do not monitor the content of programmes," said Mahmoud Khalil, media professor at Cairo University. Khalil said the new law "will probably resort to the old broadcasting code of ethics currently applied in Egypt, which prohibits broadcasting criticism of officials and security personnel." Khalil believes that if the proposed law sees daylight, "it will eventually lead to a mass departure of satellite TV channels from Egypt to countries like the UAE, where they enjoy unlimited freedom," and no government intervention. Al-Ahram veteran columnist Salama Ahmed Salama was of the opinion that, "it is not the government that should monitor media venues." Rather, he continues, "it is an independent body formed of civil society, media professionals and public figures that should assume this responsibility. This body should establish a code of ethics governing media venues and dealing with complaints from such venues. It should be a societal monitoring, not a government or a security one as the proposed law states." Salama sees the draft law as "tightening the government's grip on media venues" through the wide- ranging authorities the bill gives to NARAVB. "This will ultimately lead media venues to broadcast from countries like Cyprus and Lebanon as was the case in the past. It will also weaken competition among media venues since they will all be subject to government control." Since its release, the widespread belief among pundits and media people is that the proposed law is a desperate attempt by the government to lower the ceiling of the freedom of expression and media in the country. While Khalil hopes the new law is not "a setback to the media in Egypt, especially after the breakthrough the Arab media has seen in the past few years", El-Zahhar believes that "if the articles of this law are passed without amendments, then the government is certainly aiming at curtailing media freedom. But this will ultimately harm the government itself." Salama concurred, arguing that the law "epitomises a trend within the government to lower the ceiling of media freedom. The Egyptian government previously championed a pan-Arab convention to regulate satellite broadcasting. Today it wants to control cyberspace." Minister of Information Anas El-Fiqi stressed the law would first be debated by the Legislative Committee at the Council of Ministers, and would then be sent to political parties, civil society organisations, media companies and satellite channels for their say. "This is the first draft of the law, and some changes could be introduced," El-Fiqi said in an interview with the weekly opposition Al-Arabi. "The [proposed] body will not have a negative effect on media freedoms or impose any constraints," he insisted. He added, "I don't think the text of the law is in need of essential changes. However, the final say will go to the People's Assembly." The final say, many pundits believe, will not necessarily lie with parliament. Magdi El-Gallad, editor-in-chief of Al-Masry Al-Yom, argued that "like all the laws the government wants to pass, this law will be scrambled and passed in the parliament 'kitchen' within a few minutes. And satellite channels, radio stations, and websites will then be forced to air nothing but soap operas and video-clip songs round the clock."
