New Media Association demands inclusion in drafting of controversial Misinformation Bill

The General Secretary of the New Media Association of Ghana has called for the inclusion of content creators, bloggers, and online journalists in the drafting of the government’s proposed Misinformation and Disinformation Bill.

Jibriel Suliah Jagbesie described the current process as exclusive and vague.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on November 3, he said the association supports regulation in principle but is deeply concerned about how the bill is being shaped without input from those it will directly affect.

He said, “The Minister, Sam Nartey George, introduced us to TikTok, so we can use our platforms to monetise and get paid. So I think government is working well with other things, but with respect to this particular bill, we haven’t been engaged.”

Mr Jagbesie explained that while new media professionals are not opposed to regulation, they fear the bill may empower authorities to act arbitrarily under the guise of accountability.

“We believe that we are individual people in the media space, and we want to be able to see our work as a profession. We don’t have a problem with being regulated. But what we are scared of is the policing side of it. We are also scared about the accountability side of it,” he stressed.

He questioned the extent of accountability under the bill, saying, “If you say that I have done something and then you are coming to take my mobile phone for what I have done, you should be able to give me clear guidelines to tell me exactly what has happened. The new draft that we are seeing is vague, and most of our members are complaining about it.”

According to Jagbesie, the bill lacks clarity on what constitutes misinformation and does not provide clear legal thresholds for determining violations.

“They are not finding specific statements to back up some of these things, and we think it is vague. We should be involved as a body because we are the only association that has over 200 members across the country when it comes to new media. We are a group of bloggers, photographers and content creators.

“Even online journalists are part of us, so when something like this is coming, we should be involved.”

He also raised alarm over what he called harsh punitive measures in the proposed law, warning that they could criminalise honest mistakes.

“We are scared of the punishment. In some cases, even the traditional media get it a bit wrong sometimes. So if you get it a bit wrong, does that mean that you should be imprisoned for five years?” he asked.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Information and Communications, Abdenego Lamangin Bandim, who was also on the show, said it was premature to debate the details of the bill.

He explained that public consultations were still at an early stage.

Mr Bandim said, “I am trying very hard not to discuss the content of the bill at this stage because this is just the beginning and the bill has a long way to go before it is passed into law.

“The Minister thinks that the best thing to do is to put the bill in its current form and allow public engagement.”

He added that the Communication Ministry’s decision to publish the draft was to invite public input, not to shut anyone out.

“When they say they have not been consulted, they must understand that this is only the beginning of the consultation.

“The Minister has deliberately put this information out there to allow public discourse, so if you have concerns, you can send your concerns for consideration,” Bandim clarified.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.