Parliament begins discussing the laws of the written and electronic press

Parliament, with its two chambers, represented by the National People’s Assembly and the National Assembly, will begin discussing draft laws for the written and electronic press and audiovisual media starting this week, amid anticipation of the materials and content it will bring in addition to the Algerian media.

Next Tuesday, the National People’s Assembly (Parliament) will continue its work in a public session devoted to discussing the draft law on the written and electronic press. In this context, the Council will hold another public session next Wednesday to discuss a draft law related to audiovisual activity.

The Minister of Communication, Mohamed Laqab, recently presented before the Culture, Communication and Tourism Committee of the National People’s Assembly the draft law related to audiovisual activity.

Laqab touched on the amendments to Articles 30 and 19 of the draft law, calling on the representatives to take the initiative to amend some articles in this draft legal text, in addition to the draft law related to the written and electronic press. In this regard, he said that the continuation of Article 30, which specifies 40 percent for the contribution of natural persons to the capital of media institutions, “will lead to the closure of all private television channels because they belong to private individuals and families with one capital.”

In a related context, the Minister of Communication stressed the urgent need to discuss the two draft laws related to audiovisual and written and electronic journalism in public sessions in the National People’s Assembly as soon as possible, noting that the organic law related to the media remains frozen and inapplicable without the issuance of these two laws.

He explained that the issuance of the two laws “will allow the issuance of applied and regulatory texts and the installation of bodies charged with regulating the media sector and promoting it in the field of controlling content and media material,” noting that there are “other articles that need to be amended, similar to those related to the functioning and organization of the audiovisual control authority,” calling for Committee members to submit their proposals in this regard. The Minister of Communications also highlighted the importance of improving laws related to the media, which he said “the future of the sector depends on.”