Jordan to host first meeting of Arab technical team for media Tuesday

AMMAN — Jordan on Tuesday will host the first meeting of an Arab technical team tasked with negotiating with international media companies.

The two-day meeting, organised by the Ministry of Government Communications, will be inaugurated by Minister of Government Communications and Government Spokesperson Faisal Shboul, with the participation of Assistant Secretary-General and Supervisor of the Media and Communication Sector of the Arab League, Ambassador Ahmad Rashid Khattabi, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The team will review negotiation mechanisms and prepare conditions and rules based on the unified Arab strategy and guidelines for social media regulations, digital broadcasting regulations and digital taxes.

The meeting comes in implementation of Council of Arab Ministers of Information decision No. 533, made during the council’s 53rd regular session in Morocco. The decision adopted a Jordanian proposition to create a unified Arab strategy to negotiate with international media companies, including the formation of an Arab technical team. 

The team is chaired by Jordan. Other members include representatives from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Information Ministers and the Arab States Broadcasting Union.

The Arab strategy seeks to promote Arab content and defend Arab and Islamic causes, particularly the Palestinian cause, from negative propaganda and Islamophobia. It also aims to protect children and youth from harmful content, counter hate speech, false news and attacks on privacy, and preserve advertising rights for traditional media, given that social media platforms have dominated the current advertising market.