Kurdistan parliament shelves digital media regulation bill following criticism: committee

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Region’s parliament has shelved a controversial digital media regulation bill due to criticism over its current content, a parliamentary committee announced on Monday.

“After receiving notes on the content of the bill, our committee decided on Monday to reject the current contents of the bill,” said the parliament’s culture committee in a Monday evening statement. 

The committee will consult experts, journalists and relevant authorities “to redraft it with more convenient content which takes into consideration the notes and comments from the experts and journalists,” it added.

Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani welcomed the move, saying the bill would only target digital media outlets unaffiliated to political officials. 

He suggested "addressing the issues found in current laws" rather than introducing new legislation.

“The Bill of Reorganizing Digital Media in the Kurdistan Region – Iraq” consists of 22 articles, and has been signed by 53 MPs from different blocs both within and outside of government and has received criticism from journalists, watchdogs and politicians alike.

Among the most controversial articles of the bill are Article 15, which stipulates that “a website editor-in-chief or owner of account or official pages on social media platforms will be fined from 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 dinars ($840-$4,200) if they defame, insult or threaten an individual", and Article 12, which says that “anyone related to terror in the digital publications will be dealt with according to terror law," with potential punishments of up to 15 years in prison.

Committee head Salma Fatah told Rudaw English earlier on Monday that Article 12 would be removed to "alleviate concerns," but said reactions against the bill were "politically motivated." 

Opponents say the bill fails to adequately distinguish between private, commercial, and journalist accounts.

Rahman Ghareeb, the head of Sulaimani-based press watchdog Metro Center, told Rudaw on Monday that the bill has “mixed up journalism work, social media advertisements and information sites."

The center welcomed the committee move to freeze the bill later in the day.