(MENAFN- Jordan Times) The Lower House will not be biased to any view when dealing with amendments to the Press and Publications Law and will prevent attempts to limit freedom of the press, House Speaker Abdul Karim Dughmi said Tuesday.
During a meeting with publishers and owners of local news websites, Dughmi said Parliament will take the side of the nation and its interests and will take into account the interests of the press and the need to apply international standards when discussing the bill.
"We will not be biased to any view, but we will be guided by national interests, international standards and the interests of the profession itself when dealing with this draft law," he stressed.
But the attending representatives of news websites did not agree on a single position towards the amendments to the press law.
President of the so-called Electronic Media Society Shaker Johari accused certain publishers and owners of news websites of practising blackmail.
Johari charged that owners of "a majority" of electronic media outlets were not abiding by professional ethics to make personal gains.
Meanwhile, representatives of the coordination committee of news websites, led by Basil Okour, publisher of JO24 news website, and Nidal Mansour, president of the Centre for Defending the Freedom of Journalists, handed over a document to Dughmi that included their suggestions for the amendments to the press law.
They requested that deputies engage in dialogue with them before they take a final decision in connection to this legislation.
The committee suggested that online news websites do not need to register with any official agency to practise their activities and cover news, saying that informing the authorities would suffice.
The committee rejected any formula or proposal under which the websites would be suspended or blocked, as any violations can be dealt with exclusively through courts.
Committee members also requested that the owner or publisher of a website can act as chief editor, and that fines imposed on websites should be no more than JD1,000 in any case against them.
They also demanded that news websites should not pay income taxes and other fees to the state.
But they agreed that all websites that register as companies under the companies control department in the Ministry of Industry and Trade should be covered by the Press and Publications Law.
The committee did not agree on the amendment stipulating that comments on news websites should be part of the news item itself and be relevant to main idea of the news.
The coordination committee includes 21 online media outlets, while the society includes 114. The total number of local news websites and portals is estimated at over 400.
Tuesday's meeting was arranged in response to demands by news websites.
Dughmi told attendees that the overall stance in Parliament leans towards opposing the violations and negative practices by certain online media outlets, indicating that news websites must not take aim at deputies to ensure that they do not oppose their suggestions.
The Lower House National Guidance Committee will start examining the draft amendments to the law soon, according to Dughmi.
The speaker said he recommended that the committee open dialogue with all stakeholders over this "vital" piece of legislation.
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