BEIRUT: Information Minister Walid
Daouk said the draft law concerning online media scheduled to be discussed in
Cabinet Wednesday aims at regulating websites and protecting their owners,
according to a local daily.
Daouk told An-Nahar newspaper that
his proposal rests on two principles, regulation and protection, in remarks
published Wednesday.
Each website has to have a known
address and the owner's contact information should be readily available in case
violations occur. In return, according to Daouk, the Information Ministry vows
to protect the owner's freedom of expression and property.
“I worked on the project and
prepared it and I prefer that we don't tie it to other issues or draft laws
prepared for the media,” Daouk told the daily.
“In the last census, conducted a
month and a half ago, the number of Lebanese websites dealing with politics was
about 140; now the number has more than doubled,” he added.
An-Nahar released what it claims to
be Daouk’s draft law which includes eight articles stipulating what kind of
information is prohibited from being published and who can own a website.
The law, according to the newspaper,
prohibits the publication of material that infringes on mores and ethics or
relates to gambling. The law is not aimed at monitoring the exchange of
personal information.
Every website has to have an owner
and a responsible manager; the latter cannot be responsible for more than one
website. An owner can also be the responsible manager, but must not have
judicial immunity or have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.
The law governing the work of journalists and
reporters applies to employees of websites. The court of publications is in
charge of disputes or violations related to online media.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Mar-07/165822-draft-law-governing-online-media-aims-to-regulate-protect-daouk.ashx#axzz1oM3eP0Kk
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