Arab technical team meeting to negotiate with global media companies commences

Minister of Government Communication and Government Spokesman Faisal Shboul inaugurated on Tuesday the first meeting of an Arab technical team tasked with negotiating with international media companies. During the opening session, Shboul emphasized that the task assigned to the technical team by the Council of Arab Information Ministers is crucial to restoring lost rights on political, cultural, social, and economic levels and establishing a long-term relationship that can adapt to the positive and negative effects of the digital age on our societies. He mentioned Jordan’s efforts to create a cohesive Arab strategy for engaging with global media corporations, which received praise from allied nations. He noted that in recent months, Arab information ministers have reached a consensus on this vision, requiring the technical team to establish an actionable plan for negotiation as the first step towards forging a solid partnership with international media companies. Shboul stated that Arab countries have been slow to establish their relationships with international media companies, in contrast to European countries. He candidly admitted that the Arab countries were six years behind Europe, which recently passed a law for digital services that imposes strict regulations and hefty fines on harmful content. “In recent years, we have lost many rights due to the negative impact of social media on political, social, and economic levels. It is now crucial to regain some of those rights and prepare for an uncertain future amidst the digital space race, digital chaos, infodemic, and media crises worldwide,” stated the minister. He emphasized that international media companies should prioritize fairness to Arabic content, the Arabic language, and major Arab issues, especially the Palestinian cause, hate speech against Arabs and Muslims, and Islamophobia. Shboul affirmed the significance of requiring international media firms to adhere to specific procedures, while also highlighting the commitment of Arab countries to various standards to establish a sustainable relationship grounded on clear regulations and mutual trust. International media companies, he went on, need to provide legal representation in every Arab country for us to communicate and report illegal content and commit to deleting illegal content and fighting all forms of hate speech, false news, attacks on privacy, terrorist organization promotions, disturbing social peace, falsifying data, pornographic content, sexual exploitation, and incitement to crime. Going over social media and its effects on traditional media, the minister said billions of dollars have been spent on social media in the Arab market over several years. It is necessary to agree with those companies to allocate a percentage of that spending for education and media and informational literacy to combat digital dominance and support local media, especially non-governmental ones, he added. In this regard, he noted that Jordan will soon host the Global Media and Information Literacy Conference. This conference aims to connect media awareness with the audience and provide youth with digital education.

Source: Jordan News Agency