King Abdullah Endorses Controversial Press and Publication Law

Photo Credit: AP

Jordan’s king has approved a controversial law that aims at monitoring media websites operated by Jordanians. The law requires electronic publications, defined as “an electronic site on the internet with a fixed address that offers publication services,” to obtain a license with the government. The owner, editor, and director of these sites will be held responsible for comments posted to their website, and are obligated not to publish comments “containing information or facts unrelated to the news items or if the truth has not been checked.”

Writing on his blog, The Black Iris, Naseem Tarawnah said he was not surprised by the law’s passing, but had hoped public pressure on the king, from citizens and concerned organizations such as Human Rights Watch, would deter the king from putting his seal of approval on it. Tarawnah does not believe this will create a widespread blanket of internet censorship, mostly because there is already an environment of fear that causes self-censorship. However, Tarawnah urges his fellow writers to continue to “write, produce, publish, comment, discuss, analyze, report, and debate – vigorously.”