Government to clarify chilling media law

The National:

Ibrahim al Abed, the NMC’s director general, said the Government would release an appendix to the law within eight weeks that should clear up what critics have termed “vague provisions”.
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Mohammed Yousef, the director of the UAE Journalists Association, said last week that he would continue to lobby for changes to the law before it was passed. Mr Yousef said the FNC committee had integrated almost none of his association’s recommendations.

Other critics have said the articles were too open to interpretation and could have a chilling effect on the way the media is able to report.

But according to Mr al Abed, the legislation is aimed at preventing stories from being fabricated. “If one is confident of the source, then there’s no problem,” he said. “We’re talking about rumours such as spreading false news about a major company going bankrupt or that the economy is collapsing.”