Media and defamation law will strengthen press power and responsible journalism – Evarist Bartolo

Minster for Education Evarist Bartolo, who had presented the proposed Media and Defamation Act to the press along with Minister Owen Bonnici, told parliament that the law will not only strengthen the power of journalists, but will also ensure responsible journalism.

“Freedom is important, but so is using this freedom responsibly,” he said.

He stressed the importance of the industry regulating itself, rather than government regulating the industry. He also suggested the establishment of a press ombudsman or press council.

He spoke of the amendment which would have seen any person who ran a website which contained any news material to register, and said that the government listened to the public’s concern and opted to remove it.

This will be removed in the committee stage, as the legislation that was presented to parliament had not yet omitted it.

Another amendment, the minister said, will ensure that the protection of sources will be extended to citizen journalists. Another will look to ensure that the press register will remain autonomous. On the amendment concerning the increase in penalties, which will see the maximum be increased to €20,000, the minister said that while IGM agreed with an increase, the union did not agree with the steep rise.

He backed up the government’s stance by saying that not only will the libel cases be made harder for applicants to win, but will also ensure that the penalties take into account the financial situation of the individual.

The final amendment will see the government become obliged by law to consult with concerned parties before any amendment be made to the law.

Opposition MP Charlo Bonnici told parliament that he “smelt a rat in the intention of this act”, explaining that the proposed legislation was presented as a “knee-jerk reaction” to the allegations on Minister Chris Cardona made on journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s blog.

The minister refuted these claims, saying that the work on the proposed legislation began two years ago and involved legal consultation with members of the media.

PN MP Francis Zammit Dimech later in the debate criticised the government for ever including the particular clause relating to the registration of online news sites, explaining that he thought the government was capable enough to understand that they were breaking the fundamental rights of individuals with that clause prior to the protests on the issue.

Dr Zammit Dimech said that it would be a lot easier to make arguments concerning the bill, if the bill being debated would be the final version.

He went on to say that the committee stage was the crucial test, as it will show whether the government will include the amendments they promised to withdraw, and that it should not be a formal exercise but should rather be a debate between both sides to include the amendments they felt were necessary.

PN MP Censu Galea referred to a meeting with the Institute of Journalists, and said that for a better and fair debate on the issue, the amendments government will propose should have been proposed so that everyone would have an idea of what is going on.

He said that persons who abuse the media and write false articles, do so without any form of respect.

He said that one cannot assume that everyone reading an article has the time to analyse and see what is written.