Ammon News - Randa Habib’s Corner

When I first learned about the government’s decision to bar public employees from some websites, I took my time to study this move, which other countries around the world have implemented.

After hearing the argument, I believe that the government’s step was untimely and could be seen as punishment and restriction of freedom, rather than a means, as the authorities say, to save public funds and enhance productivity of the public sector.

A legitimate question comes to mind: Why did the government decide to take this action now? Parliament is absent, public debate about national issues is relatively limited and some local news websites are filling a gap by allowing people to express themselves.

After all, government employees are used to reading the newspapers or even listening to the news on the radio at their offices. This has become a kind of tradition and some sort of a right, which also includes news sites.

Surely there are millions of other ways for the government to save money, but the ban is not one of them. It will not save the 70-million-dinar loss, which is reportedly caused by employees who spend one hour a day surfing the web. In fact, the ban is likely to backfire because it will not necessarily push or encourage employees to work harder. Those who have the habit of wasting time will always find other ways to do so, as they can still access sites like Google and Yahoo, not to mention Twitter, on which some senior officials “tweet” occasionally. They can also spend hours on the phone, play computer games or even daydream.

Is it a coincidence that the ban comes at a time when the government approves a new temporary law on IT crimes? I have consulted top lawyers on the matter who pointed out many flaws, mainly that “the law was not drafted in a proper manner. Article 13, specifically, contradicts articles of the Jordanian Constitution regarding personal liberties and the secrecy of correspondences. In addition, the law contradicts the Criminal Procedures Law concerning the duties of the prosecutor”.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no sympathy for bad journalism and for those who use their pen as a weapon for blackmail, defamation and character assassination. I have repeatedly called for establishing a complaint commission or for magistrate courts to rule quickly on such cases. The new minister of justice may remember that I consulted him on such matters a few months ago.

But the existence of such media does not give the authorities the right to punish everybody. Dialogue, and not a “beating stick”, should precede any measures. The government should be a solution provider, finding efficient and durable means and programmes to boost productivity and work control.

* Jordan Times