Media Regulations in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Global Perspective

DOI: 10.46988/IJMMC.01.01.2019.007

Abstract

The Study aimed at investigating Global Media standards as widely agreed upon in  international  conventions and  the United  Nations Organization , and  consider to what extent the Gulf Cooperation Council countries addressed these standards in their constitutions, penal codes and  press laws, it explores media  freedom  and  media professionals constitutional rights  and protection provided by the laws of these countries, it explained how media laws differ from international and global regulations  adopted in libertarian societies in the United States of America, United Kingdom and France, The study used historical  methods to gather related information from  international documents,  and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries constitutions, penal codes, and  press laws and online sources, the findings of the study indicated that all the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have a restrictive clause in their constitutions which enable the government to issue laws which regulate the media, they all guarantee freedom of the press within the limits of the law, they all have a licensing system, and that these countries need to revise their penal codes and press laws to be aligned with international standards, and  to change criminal libel to a civil offense instead of treating it as a criminal offense, the  study concluded that the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have similar standards adopted in their constitutions and laws, and this returns to their common shared culture, values, traditions and religion.