DOHA: The Shura Council has held its regular weekly session at the Tamim bin Hamad Hallat the council's headquarters, chaired by Speaker of the Council HE Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim.
At the beginning of the session, HE Nayef bin Mohammed Al Mahmoud, Secretary-General of the Shura Council, read the agenda, and the minutes of the previous session were approved.
The Council reviewed the report of the Education, Culture, Sports and Media Affairs Committee on the request for a general discussion submitted by a number of members, related to regulating the production of media content and its publication on digital platforms.
At the beginning of the discussions,Al Ghanimstressed that the legislation and laws in the State of Qatar guarantee freedom of opinion and expression, pointing out that the Qatari Constitution affirmed that personal freedom is guaranteed, and considered it one of the pillars of Qatari society. At the same time, it obligated all those who reside in the State of Qatar, or come to its territory, to adhere to public order and public morals, and to observe national traditions and established customs.
Within this framework, he stressed the danger of the uncontrolled use of digital platforms, and the necessity of regulating the publication of digital content on them, pointing to the widespread use of social media networks and other digital media, and the significant and influential growth of their role, and their dominance of the largest part of the time of members of society, especially the youth.
He pointed out that discussing the risks of social media platforms’ content does not mean a pessimistic view of them, stressing the weight and importance of these platforms and their impact on shaping awareness and forming public opinion, calling for their optimal use in a way that preserves the stability of society and respects its values, ethics and public morals.
While reviewing the report, HE Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Obaidan, Chairman of the Education, Culture, Sports and Media Affairs Committee, referred to the meetings held by the Committee to discuss the subject, and its invitation to representatives of a number of parties to obtain their opinion regarding it.
After extensive discussions on the report’s findings and exchanging views and opinions on it, the Council decided to submit a proposal to the government aimed at regulating the provision of disciplined media content via digital platforms.
The proposal included a number of measures that would contribute to controlling and regulating the provision of media content by creating a legal framework for issuing a licence for influencers via digital platforms issued by one of the relevant authorities in the state, which includes a number of conditions and controls, ensuring the provision of purposeful media content that is consistent with our values and national identity, and preventing the spread of foreign cultures, and uncontrolled advertisements that are not licensed by the relevant authorities.
The proposal specified some controls that the licence should include, including adherence to ethical content by avoiding publishing anything that affects national unity and social cohesion, and any content that falls within the scope of hate speech, discrimination and violence, while respecting cultural heritage, values and national identity.
The controls referred to in the proposal also include responsibility towards society by not publishing misleading or unscientifically proven information and commitment to credibility when promoting. They also include intellectual property rights and transparency.
On the other hand, the Council reviewed a draft law on the state emblem, referred to it by the esteemed government, and decided to refer it to the Internal and External Affairs Committee to study it and submit its report on it to it.
The Council also approved a draft law amending some provisions of the Income Tax Law issued by Law No. 24 of 2018, and referred it to the esteemed government, after reviewing what was stated in the report of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, and discussing its details by Their Excellencies the members.
The draft amendment to the law comes to enable multinational companies to submit their tax returns, and implement global rules to combat tax base erosion and profit shifting for multinational companies.
The session concluded with a review of reports on the participation of Shura Council delegations in a number of regional and international parliamentary events during the past period.
