Some lawyers in the UAE would like to see a law enacted to replace the controversial 1980 Press and Publications Law.
A lawyer with experience in media work said the law “needs to be modified”.
The threat of imprisonment for journalists and the power to seize and ban publications should be removed.
“At the same time, it will guarantee that journalists are independent of administrative authority just like judges,” the lawyer said.
The law “does not represent reality” because it was issued in 1980, he said.
“The political, social and economic conditions have changed, and social media and the internet have become popular,” the lawyer said.
“Readers can get information from the outside world easily without being held accountable, nor the authors who may just disappear or be unidentified.
“Therefore, the new legislation must be on the same level with the tremendous technological and communication advances.”
newsdesk@thenational.ae
