Lebanese Ministry of Information
Dr. Hassan Falha, General Director of the Ministry of Information, wrote:
The evolution of media is objectively intertwined with the legislation governing its operation and overseeing its performance according to legal and regulatory texts. The reciprocal relationship between legislation and media work becomes evident through the effectiveness of the tasks entrusted to the media and the ability of legislation to keep pace with the technological advancements in media and knowledge.
This relationship may seem unequal in comparison to the speed of development, a concomitant presence between the two sides, but it is an inevitable and necessary relationship, with each having its own characteristics during task performance. It is thus an equation defining the relationship between legislative text and media performance.
Specificity is highlighted through differences in the speed of pathways aligning with the nature of work, which has been significantly impacted and fundamentally altered by technological advancements, altering the pace of these available pathways. We are faced with three aspects forming the unit of work, namely: legislative text, the nature of work (media), and technological development, making them parallel presences in the accomplishment of tasks. Legislative regulation nurtures media work amidst the rhythm of immense technological advancement. Legislative regulation corresponds within the context of the interdependence between media pathways, which has imposed a change in the nature of media function and its role, in addition to its tasks and performance.
However, it is established that legislation has been the cornerstone in establishing media outlets, the steadfast pillar upon which its reasons for existence have relied since the inception of traditional media outlets during the past two centuries, at least globally, and within the Arab countries, the Lebanese model stands out as a precedent, nearly historically and temporally, as well as culturally, linguistically, religiously, and intellectually diverse, allowing it to lead these countries in establishing diverse media outlets and thriving on its land.
The Reality and Level of Arab Media Legislation
Legislation is classified into levels according to the hierarchy of the strength of the text, its status, and in accordance with its nobility and obligation, as the constitution surpasses all other legislation and prevails over it because it constitutes the primary source of legal legislation.
It is emphasized that legal sources are generally derived from custom, religion, legislation, jurisprudence, judiciary, and principles of justice in terms of chronological sequence.
Legislation, custom, principles of Sharia, and principles of justice have their order and sequence of importance as existential and foundational sources of law according to legislation in all countries.
Most Arab countries gained their independence from British and French mandates in the mid-twentieth century, and many legacies of these mandates remain present in their constitutions, especially media legislation, which reflects the will of the highest political authorities in each of these countries. While some of these countries do not contradict in terms of text what was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in its first session in 1946, stating that “freedom of the press is a human right and belongs to all freedoms endorsed by the United Nations” (1).
This does not negate the clear conclusion from the laws related to the media in these countries, as they are never uniform, but rather exhibit a clear and distinctive difference from the legislation of civil and criminal law practitioners, who maintain greater consistency among these countries due to their direct derivation from Islamic law in general.
The Legitimacy of Printing and the Ownership of Arab Media
It cannot be overlooked that the legislation governing printing, which aimed to regulate the process of printing and publishing and establish printing presses, faced religious pressures in its early stages during the Ottoman rule, which dominated the Arab countries as they exist today. It was not permissible to issue any publication without a Sultan’s decree from the Sublime Porte in Istanbul, which was based on a religious fatwa permitting printing in 1727 (2), after its prohibition. The apparent reason for the ban was the fear of distorting or tampering with the printing of Quranic texts, although it is worth noting that the first press to print Latin letters in the East was the Deir Qozhaya press in Lebanon (3).
When the Bulaq press was established in Egypt in 1819, the governor Muhammad Ali Pasha issued a decree banning the printing of any book without his direct permission (4).
Legislation and laws clearly reflect the nature of the political systems and their governing patterns, which countries adhere to. In the Arab world, the relationship between the two parties is a close, strong, and direct one, aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the regimes and their ability to control and manage power resources. Arab media serves as a stark mirror of these Arab regimes and the nature of their laws, which are characterized by clear diversity in form, whether they are republican, monarchical, emiratic, presidential, or parliamentary. However, they share common points and rely on the same mechanisms in approaching performance and implementation. This is particularly evident in the space these countries allocate for freedom of belief, and consequently freedom of opinion and expression, which is inherently limited due to the prevailing suspicion and preconceived doubt in the trajectory of governance, even if legislation and laws, in terms of their texts, appear to suggest otherwise.
The formal diversity in governance systems has not mitigated the excessive control of media by authorities, either through direct public ownership or through clear-cut control over the performance of private media, albeit indirectly through ownership constraints. “These countries remained subject to individual authorities,” (5) using media as a tool to mold opposing opinions and reinforce their own.
Thus, the media is subject to state subordination through the delineation of press privileges, the monopolization of radio and television stations, state-owned news agencies, and the exclusive issuance of media-related legislation by state bodies, in addition to controlling financial support for independent newspapers and overseeing news content (6).
In Egypt, where the modern Egyptian media dates back over two centuries, particularly with the establishment of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during his campaign in Egypt in 1798, for the publication of “Le courier de L Egypte” (7) in French, and later the founding of Al-Ahram newspaper by the Taqla brothers, Salim and Bishara, in 1875, since then, until 2013, one hundred and eighty-six laws related to media and press have been issued, mostly imposing restrictions and the means to alleviate them, as successive authorities have attached special importance to the media, placing it under their control (8).
The Emergency Law No. 162, issued in 1958, still imposes censorship on newspapers and authorizes their closure when deemed necessary to maintain national security, imposing “supervision over newspapers, bulletins, publications, editorials, cartoons, and all means of expression, advertisement, and propaganda before publication, regulating, confiscating, obstructing, and closing their printing locations (9).”
In Iraq, Wali Dawoud Pasha al-Karaji established the “Journal al-Iraq” in 1816 in both Turkish and Arabic to cement Ottoman influence, and Khedive Ismail issued the “Wadi al-Nil” newspaper in Arabic, speaking in his name (10).
In Morocco, Lebanese Maronites established “Al-Maghrib” newspaper in 1889, under French supervision, which had previously published “Al-Moubachir” in Algeria in 1847. In Tunisia, “Al-Raed al-Tunisi” newspaper was issued in 1861, and in Syria, the Ottomans founded “Al-Suriya” newspaper in 1865 (11).
Lebanon: A Pioneering Model in Arab Media
In Lebanon, the constitution serves as the primary source of legal legislation, embodying the legal principles that define the nature of the state and its system, and delineating the powers of its primary authorities. Ordinary legislation, such as laws, cannot contradict or surpass higher legislation, namely the constitution, or foundational legislation like media, civil, penal, commercial laws, among others (equivalent in legal force to legislative decrees of significance), followed in hierarchical strength by decrees issued by the Council of Ministers and its resolutions, then individual decrees and resolutions issued by ministers, followed by general directors or bodies and councils entrusted with managing specific facilities and affairs, such as the National Council for Audiovisual Media, whose decisions remain advisory.
It is notable that the immense technological advancement is met with, and often surpassed by, the legal, legislative, and regulatory rigidity in Lebanese media, sometimes reaching the point of obsolescence due to technological progress, rendering some laws and regulations ineffective or obsolete. This is evident in the processes of legislative amendment or development, such as amending the Press Law or the Audiovisual Law, and even the Syndicate Law, resulting in deep and fatal gaps that challenge the continuity or persistence of the media as it currently stands.
The latest attempt to amend the Press Law began with a proposal by Deputy Robert Ghanem, and a similar proposal by Deputy Ghassan Moukheiber over fifteen years ago in 2009. The two proposals were merged at the time, and more than seventy sessions of the parliamentary media committee were held, witnessing five chairmanships since Deputy Abdel Latif Zein, passing through Deputy Hassan Fadlallah (two terms), Deputy Hussein El Hajj Hassan, and Deputy Ibrahim al-Mousawi. The intention is not to assign blame or absolve anyone, but rather to shed light on the difficulty of accomplishing certain types of laws and their enactment without prior political consensus, including media-related issues. This practically necessitates lowering the level of the authority capable of approving the text that regulates media work to keep pace with the speed of technological advancement (the records of invitations to media committees can be reviewed at the General Secretariat of the Parliament). Otherwise, technological progress does not wait for the issuance of legislation to advance.
Electronic media in Lebanon operates with the force of technology and its impetus without any legal or legislative text defining website licenses, overseeing their powers, or outlining their rights and obligations.
Thus, we may face the dilemma of the absence of legislation and a legislative crisis, which is true. However, the actual problem lies in who is responsible for legislation or the authority to issue executive and practical decisions, such as the allocation of frequencies. Why is it restricted to a decree in the Council of Ministers, as is the case now with Law No. 382/94 or Law No. 531/96, and not confined to the National Council for Media, as is the case in France?
The fundamental problem lies in the extent to which legislation aligns with the management of public, private, and individual media facilities, and what degree of legislation or legal force is required to ensure their proper functioning. In other words, does managing media affairs require legislative text issued by the parliament at all times, or can these texts and regulations be issued by decisions from authorities with other competencies, whether executive or lower in legal hierarchy? We need a decision from the Council of Ministers, and why the matter may not be limited to specialized bodies.
These fundamental points require thorough, serious, and thoughtful investigation, particularly regarding the laws protecting and caring for workers, such as the media-related unions law. When were the last amendments made to these texts? What is the extent of the amendments, and are they sufficient? These are legitimate questions for anyone interested in this matter, but they are existential questions for the survival and continuity of the media.
Especially in light of the stark disparity between outdated legislation, laws, and regulations that have become obsolete over time due to technological advancements, and the cognitive and scientific leaps related to media and communication tools. This disparity appears significant in Lebanon, where the biological clock of media legislation stopped more than half a century ago in some areas, unlike the country’s past, where Lebanon was among the first Arab countries to issue laws and regulations governing media work. For example, the news garden founded by Khalil Khoury in 1858 was the first newspaper in the Arab world, before the Lebanese Salim and Bechara Taqla issued the newspaper Al-Ahram in Cairo in 1875.
Lebanon also witnessed the establishment of the first press committee (union) in 1911 to monitor the status and affairs of Lebanese newspapers (12).
In the year 1938, the inception of the first nationwide television network (rather than limited to a single capital or city) occurred, with the establishment of Télé Liban in 1958 (13). This signifies an abundant surplus in the realm of media history. Concurrently, there exists an initial apprehension regarding the projected trajectory of media in the future. This apprehension is amplified by the fact that media laws and regulations have undergone no discernible amendments, whether minor or substantive, despite the imposition of technological advancements and their pervasive influence. Initially, the cessation of licensing for political publications underscores the ineffectiveness of existing legislation. Pursuant to Legislative Decree No. 74/53 (14), which remains in force to date, the number of political publications is circumscribed in an approach that contradicts the freedom enshrined by the Lebanese Constitution, particularly Article 13, which guarantees “freedom of expression, in speech, writing, printing, assembly, and the formation of associations, all within the limits of the law” (15). This article was promulgated in 1936 by decree of the French High Commissioner and has remained unaltered to date, having endured unchanged by the Taif Agreement. Over ninety percent of political publications have ceased circulation for numerous years, necessitating the revocation of their licenses under the Press Law, which has undergone minor amendments incongruent with the nature of modern journalism. This modern journalism is governed by an unspecified law enacted on September 14, 1962. The emergence of the knowledge economy and technology in Lebanon is clearly outpacing traditional media, which has markedly dwindled, especially in print journalism. Returning to the records of the Press and Publications Department, Lebanon currently licenses 110 political publications, nine of which are in circulation, including one French-language publication (16).
Meanwhile, non-political educational publications surpass one thousand five hundred, including specialized publications totaling ten, in addition to three publications dedicated to culture (17). In this context, it is imperative to acknowledge that the Law on the Regulation of Visual and Auditory Media, Law No. 382/94 (18), has effectively become largely obsolete due to changes in broadcast methods and modalities, including the disappearance of certain methods such as terrestrial broadcasting related to visual media. The situation does not improve with satellite broadcasting, as there is a diminished technological need for compliance with the Law on Satellite Broadcasting, Law No. 531/96 (19), which has fallen out of state control following the cessation of satellite transmission through the Ghuroub Al-Balout facility under the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications. Media outlets have now taken control themselves, equipped with simple and easily operable broadcasting equipment, and it is no longer difficult to relocate broadcasting operations outside Lebanon. This evolution necessitates a reconsideration of many materials currently utilized or studied, in favor of new and emergent subjects aligned with the trajectory of technological advancement, which has engendered a financial and operational system vastly different from the traditional paradigm in this context. Legally speaking, concerning public or private media, we encounter legislation that has become outdated and incongruous with modern media practices. For example, the regulations of the Ministry of Information, as well as laws pertaining to print, visual, auditory, and satellite media, no longer reflect the realities of the media landscape, nor have they undergone any developments that could bridge the gap between legal texts and the evolving technological landscape.
- Law Project Executed by Decree No. 7276 issued in August 1961 (Regulation of the Ministry of Information), amended six times, most recently by Decree No. 4036 dated May 22, 1981.
- Decree No. 8254 issued on December 20, 1961, pertaining to the Staffing and Regulations of the Ministry of Information, amended thrice, lastly by Law No. 86 dated September 7, 1991.
- Law Enacted by Legislative Decree No. 25 issued on April 26, 1983, for the Reorganization of the Ministry of Information, with its implementing decrees yet to be issued according to Article 9, stipulating that the implementing decrees should be determined by the Cabinet within six months of its issuance (forty-one years ago).
- Decree No. 8255 issued on December 20, 1961 (Conditions of Employment in the Ministry of Information), amended four times, lastly in 1964 by Decree No. 17473 dated September 9, 1964.
- Decree No. 8588 issued on January 24, 1962, defining the powers of units under the Ministry of Information, amended twice, lastly by Decree No. 3372 dated August 8, 1981.
- Law No. 560 dated July 24, 1996, allocating funds for the development of Lebanese radio.
- Decree No. 770 issued on December 30, 1977, establishing “Television Lebanon” as a mixed joint-stock company, amended thrice, lastly by Law No. 14 dated April 20, 1988.
- Decree No. 1095 dated March 22, 1978, the basic statute for Television Lebanon, amended twice, lastly by Decree No. 2828 dated October 15, 1992.
- Decree No. 3372 issued on August 8, 1980, regulating the duties of the government commissioner, amended twice, lastly by Decree No. 8588 dated January 24, 1962.
- Regulation of Television Lebanon by Decree No. 7576 dated March 8, 2002, amended in 2009 by Decree No. 1195 dated January 10, 2009.
- Law No. 353 dated July 28, 1994, allowing audiovisual media institutions operating in Lebanon to temporarily broadcast news and political programs.
- Law No. 382/1994 issued on November 4, 1994, remains unamended to date. It defines definitions and objectives in radio and television broadcasting, categorizes television and radio media institutions, outlines the establishment, licensing, management, duties, prohibitions, and penalties, in addition to overseeing the revenues and control thereof.
- Decree No. 7997 dated February 29, 1996, containing the Model Conditions for First and Second-Class Television and Radio Institutions (not amended in 28 years).
- Law No. 531 dated July 24, 1996, remains unamended, specifying the principles for leasing broadcast channels and receiving combined audiovisual signals via satellite stations belonging to the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, noting that technological advancement has prompted satellite visual institutions to dispense with ground stations and broadcast directly via satellites without passing through ground stations within Lebanon.
Media – Economy of Knowledge and Investment
Lebanese Minister of Communications, Johnny Corm, relayed findings pertaining to the state of information and technology in Lebanon prior to 2019, that is, before the outbreak of popular uprising in this country. He stated that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Lebanon constituted 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounted for 44,000 jobs in 2016. Moreover, telecommunications comprised 12% of government revenues, equivalent to 1.3 billion US dollars in 2017, compared to 21% in 2014. Additionally, business services and information technology contributed approximately 10% to Lebanon’s GDP and accounted for 4% of the total employed population (20).
The utilization of “new media” has significantly and continuously evolved in Lebanon, with digital and news media outlets dominating nearly the entire media landscape in the country. Facebook claimed the primary position, followed by YouTube, with Twitter and Instagram ranking third and fourth, respectively. Furthermore, Google surpassed approximately forty-five percent of technology and electronic media users in Lebanon in 2018 (21).
It is noteworthy that internet usage constituted 85% of information sources worldwide in 2017 (22). It is imperative to address the economic and financial disparity among social classes by providing affordable and acceptable means of accessing these resources, as technological advancements have eliminated high-cost economic barriers to information access (23).
The implications extend beyond the economic realm to encompass democratic and political spheres. A significant portion of the youth believes that the internet serves as a valuable source of information regarding critical issues in Lebanon and globally. Moreover, the percentage of internet users who vote in the US elections is actually higher than the percentage of registered Americans eligible to vote through ballot boxes (24).
Technology and Community and Individual Service
This paradigm has not been weakened except by technological advancement, which replaced political and security control with agile and facilitated technological control, reaching a level of influence that extends to all content and delves into the depths of ideas previously unknown to humanity by those who possess and control technological capabilities. Those who control technologies and their industries can determine the paths of granting and prohibiting, and can define areas of freedom vertically and horizontally, expanding and narrowing them, alongside obsolete, outdated, and clinically lifeless laws and regulations that have fallen with the passage of technological time and the shrinking of the educational distance between content and content consumer, making the conflict clear between human control of technologies or technological control of humans. It is more appropriate to share control between both parties, although human control predominates in steering the direction of the technological revolution in its favor, fundamentally altering its behavioral patterns and lifestyle.
Consequently, legislation that previously emphasized the right to access information and ensured its freedom has become more focused on the individual within the community rather than the community composed of individuals (25) due to the individual’s widespread power in utilizing technology to reach the community, instead of the community composed of individuals controlled by traditional media institutions, which were confined to state establishment. Media within each Arab state is the responsibility and jurisdiction of that state, based on the concept of national sovereignty outlined in the Charter of the League of Arab States announced on April 22, 1945 (26).
In essence, the transformation of media from large-scale institutions to individual entities with simple nuclei is one of the fundamental considerations in the context of adopting legislative patterns. If we do not move towards easing the nature of legislation through provisions that justify, permit, and decide, but rather suffice with knowledge and expertise based on principles of rights and duties, especially in the context of the overwhelming flow of information and the ease of access to it, which has produced a virtual world closer to reality than assumption. This is due to its dominant presence in the lives of both communities and individuals, or rather, with the existence of a real individual and a virtual community, the relationship, interaction, participation, and communication become intimate, to the extent that location is no longer a barrier as a place of residence for operating the institution or the site, as it is possible to manage and operate the site from Paris, for example, contrary to what is imposed by the current media law, which requires specifying the place of residence for the responsible director (Article 23 of the Press Law of 1962).
Traditional media lose two main aspects of their significance (in the ranking among media and communication outlets) and their ability to influence the audience (27). Additionally, existential obstacles such as strict legal constraints and the necessary funding for their continuity are added, in light of tremendous technological advancement and unlimited knowledge, which have altered humanity’s approach to lifestyles and patterns, and rearranged priorities, concepts, and ethics, “according to standards of greatness.” Religion dominated the world of the Middle Ages, while television and subsequently electronic media dominated the world.
In those eras, politicians were required to obey the church, transforming them into “almost sacred creatures,” whereas today politicians must sometimes escape from television and electronic media, which can reduce them to levels below human (28). Technology contributes to achieving social development for both communities and individuals by rapidly and significantly enhancing human cultural, educational, and scientific capabilities, surpassing conventional educational methods often associated with the rigidity of traditions and cultural habits that still wield significant influence over thought patterns and cognitive behavior.
The relationship between individuals, communities, and technology has become intricate and reciprocal, especially when founded on organized knowledge and science. It has brought about fundamental changes and immense transformations in developmental levels, becoming the driving force towards economic growth that establishes sustainable and comprehensive development, as deemed by the American economist Walt Whitman Rostow. He predicted the possibility of the emergence of “mature societies” from a technological perspective, simultaneously combining poverty and wealth (29).
Hence, the need for fundamental, qualitative, and structural changes emerged, necessitating the reproduction of cultures, knowledge, and methods that keep pace with the era’s developments while preserving values, traditions, and heritage. This required judicious investment in media and the ability to utilize it and keep pace with modern technological advancements. While progress is inevitable for peoples and nations if they so desire, it is not haphazard or spontaneous, as maintaining a presence in the media space or an active presence requires keeping pace with progress and development and reassessing working methods and patterns to elevate towards the foundations of success.
One of the benefits of technological advancement and its evolution is that it has strengthened equality among peoples and communities and reduced the size of major disparities in terms of human justice as a whole. The ease of access to communication tools, especially mobile phones and computers, has led to a kind of fairness and bridged class gaps and information significantly, helping to make the world more peaceful, fair, and just according to a report by the United Nations (30).
This report indicated that digital technologies, which have surpassed any innovation in history, have reached approximately 50% of the world’s population in less than two decades and have brought about transformative changes in societies. Social media has connected nearly half of the world’s population (31).
It is essential to mention the developments imposed by technology, such as addressing conflicts, intellectual and literary property rights, and the proliferation of piracy, control, and hacking, which require specialized courts and judges or multiple areas of expertise. Additionally, the internet has imposed a strong dominance of the English language, which in turn has asserted itself on the curriculum at all educational stages. The significant reason for this is its concentration in the United States, where the majority of equipment and devices are produced, followed by Europe and Japan, in addition to the specialized internet software systems. Meanwhile, the Japanese language is not as favored due to its difficulty and limited number of users. Western countries that speak languages other than English have been forced to use it, in addition to the ease of using English as a vibrant language that is learnable within a short period (32).
Technological Evolution has Driven Fundamental Changes
The nature of technology has evolved rapidly, driven by accelerated advancement. The internet has proven to be a massive economic, social, and educational force by dominating consumer behavior and directing individuals and communities towards services, goods, programs, and curricula offered online. The internet has elevated the level of “digital colonization,” where the producer and programmer controlled the importer and consumer, leading countries like China, India, Brazil, and others to become massive markets for interaction and consumption (33).
This dominance is an extension of a similar and previous control, albeit in different forms, where American companies remained dominant in most long-form film products, television shows, and the majority of sales in the global media market before Netflix. The top five companies among the top ten were American (34).
The conglomerates Time Warner, Disney, News Corporation, Viacom, and GE_NBC Universal, followed by the Japanese Sony, the German Bertelsmann, the Dutch VNU, Vivendi/Activision Blizzard, and finally, Discovery Communications (35) collectively represent an American hegemony extending the legacy of European colonialism witnessed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. This cultural, educational, and media invasion has effectively reshaped fundamental values, concepts, social and intellectual customs, despite the natural resistance typically exhibited by local communities to any change. While religious beliefs, ideological convictions, and social norms have sometimes been deployed to counter this influx of foreign culture, Western domination and control have transcended mere technological or intellectual prowess to become integral components of endorsed educational curricula. Furthermore, these conglomerates, particularly the foremost triumvirate of Time Warner, Disney, and News Corporation, wield immense financial power, owning vast empires across various media domains, with Time Warner alone boasting ownership of fifty-four companies spanning media, radio, television, electronic publishing, literature, music, as well as cultural and scientific institutions (36).
These corporations exhibit dimensions rooted in market dictatorship, where the phrase “media consumerism” often carries undertones of “intellectual despotism,” necessitating, at times, alignment with educational curricula and programs to fulfill the requirements of authoritarian control, often intentional in form and sometimes in depth. These dynamics have driven major corporations to advocate for legislative measures that distance them from the suspicion of monopolistic practices and control over media and technology realms. Profit-driven trajectories may prompt significant alliances and merger operations, as exemplified by Time Warner, a merger between two distinct cultures: one political and journalistic, the other entertainment-oriented. This merger stands as a pillar of the digital economy, evidenced notably by Time Warner’s integration with America Online in the early 21st century, in a deal exceeding $300 billion, leading to significant regulatory consequences beyond the United States, including the demise of the European Commission’s antitrust law. This compelled Time Warner to retract its pursuit of acquiring the British music empire, EMI, necessitating concessions to secure European approval.
The phenomenon extends beyond the private sector to encompass the public domain, where there is no clear delineation between authority and media, even in advanced nations such as the United States, which champions the call for absolute media freedom. In the U.S., governmental presses are considered major publishers, with annual expenditures reaching approximately $400 million by the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s (37).
The formal and commercial control began the processes of seeking and pressure campaigns to find legislation that alleviates the dominance of commercial and profit interests and the authority of governmental bodies, moving towards the independence of organizations and legislative bodies regulating media and technical work. The autonomy of bodies vested with the authority to regulate media stems from shielding them against political and commercial interventions. Government control over these bodies would compel them to make regulatory decisions concerning media that are likely to be aligned with the government’s interests rather than serving the public good (38).
The fundamental decisions regarding the transition of media to the digital system are regulatory decisions not solely left to the government, as they would be influenced by political and economic considerations, including constraints on freedom of expression (39). In many Arab countries, including relatively liberated Lebanon, press regulation includes licensing procedures directly subject to governmental authority. Licensing for visual, auditory, and satellite broadcasting falls under government control, while for a prolonged period, private institutions remained entirely prohibited (40).
Governments’ control over media regulation in most countries, through licensing media institutions, aims to ensure loyalty and prevent criticism of the government or officials (41). This is countered by financial projects undertaken by media companies seeking direct profitability through trade and financial investment.
Formal and Commercial Dominance
The formal and commercial control began the processes of seeking and pressure campaigns to find legislation that alleviates the dominance of commercial and profit interests and the authority of governmental bodies, moving towards the independence of organizations and legislative bodies regulating media and technical work. The autonomy of bodies vested with the authority to regulate media stems from shielding them against political and commercial interventions. Government control over these bodies would compel them to make regulatory decisions concerning media that are likely to be aligned with the government’s interests rather than serving the public good (38).
The fundamental decisions regarding the transition of media to the digital system are regulatory decisions not solely left to the government, as they would be influenced by political and economic considerations, including constraints on freedom of expression (39). In many Arab countries, including relatively liberated Lebanon, press regulation includes licensing procedures directly subject to governmental authority. Licensing for visual, auditory, and satellite broadcasting falls under government control, while for a prolonged period, private institutions remained entirely prohibited (40).
Governments’ control over media regulation in most countries, through licensing media institutions, aims to ensure loyalty and prevent criticism of the government or officials (41). This is countered by financial projects undertaken by media companies seeking direct profitability through trade and financial investment.
Concurrently, the regulation of journalists’ work in Lebanon, from a legal and legislative perspective, imposes restrictions on who is allowed to practice journalism or belong to an association, union, or syndicate, contrary to the view of the United Nations Human Rights Committee that journalism is an activity engaged in by a wide range of individuals, including correspondents, bloggers, and other entities involved in self-publishing, whether in print, online, or through other intermediaries. Therefore, the state’s system, which requires registering journalists or licensing them, is incompatible with paragraph 3 of the Joint Declaration on Freedom of the Press issued by the United Nations Human Rights Committee on 18/12/2003, which emphasized the necessity of not imposing licensing on journalists or registration and not imposing legal restrictions on those who wish to pursue this profession (42).
It is evident that press licensing systems are illegitimate according to international law, as the United Nations Human Rights Committee has recognized that these systems constitute a violation of the right to expression, expressing “concern over the authority vested by press and publication laws in granting newspapers licenses, as is the case with Decree No. 74/53 in Lebanon, which regulates political publications and remains in effect to date or is withheld” (43). The rapid technological advancement necessitates flexible legislation that allocates a broad space for media and freedom of expression, calling for the development of new and effective educational curricula. Considering that the development of educational curricula related to media sciences, which require genuine talent, creativity, and sincere desire, calls for a revolution in legislative frameworks, as media laws do not align with the rapidly evolving media environment and fail to keep pace with developments at the audience level and their contribution to media content creation (44).
If legislation entails rules aimed at regulating individuals’ behavior and their relationships within society, with a legal binding nature, issued in an official document by a competent public authority in the state, then we need to establish the fundamental or constitutional legislation that ensures the issuance of subsidiary legislation or executive decisions and guarantees them. Examples include press and media laws, sanctions, union laws, and codes of journalistic ethics. Therefore, legislation must be characterized by the comprehensiveness of its rules and their generality, where they are applied for the sake of equality and to enhance solidarity and justice among individuals and groups. Legislation is not necessarily complete when it is rigid and inflexible; it may become deficient and insufficient.
Hence, it is essential to cultivate robust and balanced cultures with digital media quality that keep pace with the times by striving to produce this technology and emancipating oneself from the dependence on technical imports to comprehensive manufacturing and participation through media institutions in both the public and private sectors. This involves establishing networks and creating platforms for digital media that are in line with the times and modern media, which can be used easily due to lower cost and wider dissemination.
The endeavor to enact flexible technological, digital, and media legislation that mirrors the era, keeps pace with its development, and establishes regulations that enhance individual freedom and human values, contributing to access to information and avoiding misinformation is crucial. Strengthening the role of the judiciary through establishing courts and tribunals specialized in digital media issues at both the international and local levels.
Investing in digital media to enhance educational curricula addressing digital technologies at educational, economic, and social levels is paramount.
Encouraging financial and economic investment in digital media involves exploring avenues for deriving financial benefits from international platforms and networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, and others, and how nations can benefit from them. This includes acknowledging that traditional media gradually evolved worldwide over the past century under the complete control of the state and powerful owners before technology compelled it to undergo complete transformation, diminishing its role and altering its function, particularly over the past three decades.
The emergence of modern media enabled anyone to connect, document, write, access, view, create, and innovate, as modern media provided opportunities for viewers to create and innovate. It facilitated the establishment of exemplary businesses for commercial, investment, economic, educational, cultural, political, and social purposes, transcending rigid legislation that had previously ended technology’s dominance, emancipating and exempting media from its control.
Encouraging financial and economic investment in digital media involves exploring avenues for deriving financial benefits from international platforms and networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, and others, and how nations can benefit from them. This includes acknowledging that traditional media gradually evolved worldwide over the past century under the complete control of the state and powerful owners before technology compelled it to undergo complete transformation, diminishing its role and altering its function, particularly over the past three decades.
