The Independent Institutions Committee of the People's Majlis has once again kept the review of the "Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulatory Bill" confidential today, despite ongoing concerns expressed by journalists. The bill was accepted by the Majlis in an extraordinary sitting.

Proposing to make today's committee meeting confidential, the committee's deputy chair, Abdullah Shareef, MP for Kelaa constituency, said that in yesterday's meeting, they worked on some comments submitted by the public on the bill. He proposed to keep today's meeting confidential as well, due to additional comments.

His proposal was seconded by Ibrahim Hussain, MP for Fuvahmulah South constituency.

The proposal was passed by a majority of committee members. Meekail Ahmed Naseem, MDP MP for Galolhu South constituency, voted against keeping the meeting confidential.

The committee meeting has been kept confidential since the start of work on the Media Bill, including yesterday's meeting.

Yesterday's committee meeting first addressed the "Public Referendum Bill" submitted by the government. However, the second item was to continue the review of the "Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulatory Bill."

As soon as the committee began work on the Media Bill, Ibrahim Naseem, PNC MP for Thulusdhoo constituency, proposed to make the meeting confidential. He said that a large number of public comments had been received on the bill, with 10-12 comments on each article. He suggested that it would be in the best interest to keep the meeting confidential while reviewing these comments, as they contain personal information of those who submitted them.

Abdullah Shareef seconded Naseem's proposal, stating that it would not be appropriate to make public the information of those who submitted comments at this stage.

Consequently, the committee members unanimously voted to make the meeting confidential.

In response, journalists protested against this decision near the Majlis building yesterday.

The Media Bill includes provisions for significant measures against media outlets and individual journalists.

These include fines for journalists and media outlets violating the code of conduct set by the Media Commission, with the possibility of revoking registrations. Individual journalists can be fined between MVR 5,000 and MVR 25,000, while media outlets can be fined up to MVR 100,000.

Powers granted to the Media Commission by this bill include:

Fining journalists between MVR 5,000 and MVR 25,000 for violating the code of conduct.Fining media outlets up to MVR 100,000 for violating the law.Temporarily revoking registration even before an investigation is completed.Revoking a newspaper's registration through court.Blocking a newspaper's website while investigating a case.