Kenyan media face fines, prison terms under proposed media bills

Thirty minutes was all it took. On Thursday, 31 October, 60 Members of Parliament debated and then passed the highly contentious Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2013.
Image source: AFP via BBC
Image source: AFP via BBC

According to the International Press Institute (IPI), the new bill puts reporters and news organisations at risk of being penalised for breaking the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism - a document that would be created by a new government-appointed Communications and Multimedia Tribunal.

The consequences for breaching the yet-to-be-written Code of Conduct are not trivial. Human Rights Watch reports that journalists could be fined up to 1 million Kenyan Shillings (US $12,000) for their actions, while media houses would have to pay up to 20 million Kenyan Shillings (US $235,000).

Read the full article on www.IFEX.org.


 
For more, visit: https://www.bizcommunity.com