Media regulatory draft bill submission to NRSA delayed
The controversial media regulatory bill will not be submitted to the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) whip until further notice, authorities have said.
The whip last month returned the draft bill to the media reform committee and gave it one month to revise the draft following heavy criticism. However, the head of the committee ACM Kanit Suwannet said on Monday that the committee had not finished reviewing the draft.
He said that because there were amendments to several clauses, the committee also had to review others clauses linked to them to ensure accuracy.
The most controversial points of the draft are the composition of a proposed media professional council and media licensing, which media organisations have strongly opposed due to fears of censorship control and political interference.
In addition, Kanit said the committee was waiting for opinions from international media organisations regarding the bill.
Kanit said he was not certain whether the revised draft bill could be submitted to the NRSA whip early next month, adding that the whip had told the committee to take its time and not rush the completion the controversial draft bill.