Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission (MMBC) have publicized the guidelines in the registration of media and steps to be taken after reviewing a complaint.
MMBC, which was created under the Media and Broadcasting Commission Act, had gazetted three guidelines today, with it going into effect today as well. These are the guidelines that were being enforced by the former Media Council and Broadcasting Commission.
The guidelines are:
- Guideline to accredit journalists regarding assembly.
- Guideline to register news journals.
- Guideline in reviewing cases filed to the Media Commission and steps to be taken.
The guidelines publicized by the new commission are similar to the previous guideline and has inclusions from the Media and Broadcasting Commission Act.
The guideline to review complaints and steps to be taken states a complaint can be filed to the commission within 45 days of the content being made public. The guideline also reads that the complaint is to be reviewed and decided upon within 30 days of the complaint being made.
The guideline states that broadcasters who go against the licensing requirements will be penalized under the disciplinary code between MVR 50,000 and MVR 250,000, with medias being penalized anywhere between MVR 5,000 and MVR 100,000.
The guideline grants the commission the power to file court cases regarding amendments from the commission, public apologies and voiding the license or registry of a media.
After the Media Council and Broadcasting Commission were made into a single entity while journalists have been expressing their concerns, a separate agency named the Media Commission was created under an act that came into force in September 2025.
