Ammon News - By Hani Hazaimeh/ The Jordan Times

AMMAN - Electronic media and press freedom activists on Monday welcomed the government's decision to amend the recently endorsed Information Systems Crimes Law, calling the amendments a step in the right direction.

The amendments to the law, also called the Cyber Crimes Law, came in the wake of extensive criticism from the online media sector and from human rights advocates, who said the law in its previous form would have left news websites vulnerable to capricious prosecutions and lawsuits.

Co-owner and co-publisher of Ammon news agency Basil Okour said the government responded positively to the feedback of the electronic media sector, adding that the revised law announced Sunday meets their demands and removes ambiguities by excluding the electronic media from the law.

“Over the past few days, we have met several times with government representatives and explained to them our concerns. The amendments introduced to the law meet our demands and we hope to open a new page in the relationship between the government and the media sector as a whole,” Okour told The Jordan Times yesterday, calling on the government to exclude news websites from a recent decision to block access to around 230 websites in all public institutions.

“We are not seeking confrontation with the government. We aspire to have a relationship with the government based on mutual understanding, respect and open channels of communication in the interest of the country and the citizens,” he added.

Centre for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) President Nidal Mansour told The Jordan Times yesterday that laws should not be introduced based solely on the government’s interests, but rather authorities should work in close coordination with concerned parties in order to ensure that the introduced laws meet their objectives.

“With regards to the Information Systems Law, the centre carried out a comprehensive legal study on the law and compiled some remarks which were handed to the government as well as the online media stakeholders,” Mansour said, adding that the CDFJ suggested amendments to the law to ensure that it did not undermine the freedom of the online media.

He added that the media’s role is to monitor government performance and convey the public’s reaction to any laws or measures taken by the officials, adding that in doing so, the media must not be perceived as siding with the opposition or seeking confrontation.

“The amendments adopted during the Cabinet meeting reflects the government’s keenness to deal positively with the feedback on the law. This, however, does not mean that the government submitted to pressure from anyone,” Mansour said.

Fahed Kheitan, a columnist at Al Arab Al Yawm daily, told The Jordan Times yesterday that the online media’s embrace of the new amendments reflects their satisfaction and ends a state of confrontation between the digital press and the government.

He added that the media should monitor the government’s performance in the future to check its genuine intentions in boosting press freedom, saying that the new amendments were made due to “internal and outside pressures”. He did not elaborate, but an international watchdog and the Amman-based National Centre for Human Rights have criticised the law.