The lower house of the Algerian parliament last month approved the bill, which would include forcing journalists to disclose their sources and prohibiting media organizations from receiving foreign funds.
a new media law in Algeria that would tighten media ownership rules and force journalists to give up their sources has raised the alarm among rights groups.
On March 28, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the bill, while a vote in the Senate is expected on Thursday.
According to media outlet Jeune Afrique, a new “independent” regulatory body will be established to oversee the media, both print and electronic.
The authority will consist of 12 individuals, six of whom will be selected by the president, Jeune Afrique reported.
In addition, the proposed bill also prohibits all media outlets in Algeria from receiving direct or indirect “material aid” from foreign sources. Any violation of the law can lead to a fine of one to two million dinars ($7,400-$14,739), according to the report.
Khaled Drareni, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) representative for North Africa, said the effect of the laws will be “not positive” on journalism in the country.
“Behind this law is a clear desire to further control the media and information world in Algeria,” he told Al Jazeera from the capital Algiers.
Draneni said the bill’s attempt to define and place limits on who qualifies as a journalist was also problematic.
The bill also prohibits dual nationals from investing in (any part of) a media organization, while any journalist working in the country for a foreign publication or outlet without proper accreditation will be fined from 500,000 to one million dinars ($3,700-$ 7,400).
Journalists are also warned not to indulge in “apologies for racism, terrorism, intolerance and violence,” or engage in anything that discredits “the symbols of the war for national liberation.”
According to RSFs 2022 World Press Freedom Indexthe North African country was ranked 134th out of 180 countries and territories.
‘Media Silence’
RSF’s Drareni believed it would have been helpful for Algerian authorities to consult with “professionals who have useful and relevant things to say”.
“This code [proposed bill] gives legal character to the political will to impose a kind of total media silence that goes against … the constitution’s provisions on the right of expression and protection of journalists,” he said.
The Algerian government’s policy towards journalists has come under increasing criticism following the arrest of prominent journalist Ihsane El Kadi, who has been sentenced to three years for “foreign financing of his business”.
El Kadi is the owner of the independent media group Interface Media, which manages the Maghreb Emergent new website and Radio M.
He was first arrested in December and held under a security law that prohibits the acceptance of foreign funds that endanger Algeria’s “national unity”.
In June 2021, Algeria canceled France 24’s accreditation, accusing the Paris-based outlet of “clear and repeated hostility towards our country and its institutions”.
Draneni claimed that there was “obvious” a link between the proposed bill and the anti-government protests of the popular Hirak movement.
The movement was launched in 2019 after former former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced a bid for a fifth term in office, forcing the late leader to resign weeks later.
However, protests continued with people demanding an overhaul of the current system.