Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) has warned broadcasters to be wary in airing the live feeds recorded by lawmakers on social media platforms during parliament sittings.
In a statement released Monday, the commission noted that local television channels have been broadcasting live feeds from lawmakers’ pages on social media platforms such as Facebook, or via video calls, instead of the parliament’s official live feed.
MBC stated that such content from social media live feeds often feature vulgar language, and content that are defamatory or in violation of socially accepted standards of discipline and behaviour. Declaring that such content infringes the code of practice in broadcasting, the commission called on broadcasters to take caution in airing live feeds from social media.
The commission further urged broadcasters to ensure that the content they air conform to the regulations of the Broadcasting Act, broadcasting’s code of practice, Defamation and Freedom of Speech Act, and parliamentary regulations.
MBC also warned legal action will be taken against broadcasters which air any content that violate laws and regulations.
Currently, there is no law stating that broadcasters may only air the official live feed of parliamentary sittings, which may be stopped by the parliament at its discretion. Notably, the protests of opposition lawmakers inside the parliament chambers during the last few sessions were broadcasted to the public only via lawmakers’ personal live feeds on their social media.
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