By Faten Omar and B Izzak
KUWAIT: Information Minister Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi on Monday defended a new draft information law aimed at regulating the media industry in the country and welcomed all remarks from journalists, editors and others to improve the draft before finalizing it. The minister said penalties, in most cases, are personal and will not affect editors-in-chief of publications or automatically lead to closing those publications or suspending their licenses.
Mutairi was speaking at a meeting of members of the media to explain the draft law. He emphasized the panel discussion reflects the belief of HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah that the media belongs to the people. The minister added authorities are ready to hear all remarks in a bid to develop the media industry in the country in the best way.
Mutairi said the draft law has undergone two of three phases. In the first, authorities compiled challenges and problems facing the media field, and in the second, the ministry contacted all official bodies related to the draft. The ministry started the third phase on Monday to hear from the media industry. Mutairi pointed out the draft law includes nine chapters and 104 articles, calling on media representatives to make suggestions and comments on the draft law for two weeks on the ministry’s website.
Mutairi said the most important provisions in the draft law is the one governing penalties related to banned actions, adding that the penalty related to crimes of abusing the Almighty is a prison term of up to one year and a fine not exceeding KD 19,000, adding this penalty does not apply to editors. It also calls for only suspending the license of the publication and not to shut it.
The minister said the second part is for offending HH the Amir, and the penalty in the proposed law is a prison sentence of up to one year and a fine between KD 5,000 and KD 20,000, and it does not apply to editors. The same applies to violations calling to overthrow the government, in which writers will be penalized and not editors-in-chief or publications, the minister said.
Penalties for violators calling for immoral acts or defaming people have been reduced to just a fine of not less than KD 3,000 and personally on violators, he said. Penalties for those who undermine Kuwait’s relations with friendly countries or publish classified information banned under the law will also face a fine of not less than KD 3,000. These penalties are also personal, the minister said.
Mutairi said the new draft also regulates advertisements on social media. He said under the draft, the ministry is obliged to respond to applications for media licenses, and if it does not answer, the license is considered granted. Also, media outlets are not required to have offices to operate. He said the ministry is studying the establishment of media cities. The minister also listened to comments and questions by reporters and editors about the new draft.
Mutairi highlighted some of the positive aspects of the draft law, including the elimination of the harshest punishments and the introduction of clear articles. The minister also announced an upcoming media forum at local, Gulf and international levels aimed at developing the media sector and enhancing its role on Arab and global stages.
During the discussion session, editors-in-chief and media professionals stressed the importance of access to information from relevant government agencies. They called for greater media freedom and support for Kuwaiti art to regain its former prominence. Media representatives also requested assistance from the ministry of information to encourage talented young Kuwaiti journalists.
Additionally, they emphasized the need to verify information accuracy and maintain the confidentiality of government agreements to prevent leaks. They said if such agreements were leaked to international media outlets, local news sources should have the right to publish them. Furthermore, they emphasized the importance of online media outlets attributing the source of their news and protecting copyright of published articles.