Morgan: Ban about decency, standards
Gov’t backs Broadcasting Commission’s latest restriction on aired content
Published:Thursday | October 13, 2022 | 12:11 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
The Government has doubled down on the Broadcasting Commission’s policy to ban songs it says glorify criminality from the airwaves, arguing that radio stations cannot continue to breach their licences.
Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Information Robert Morgan, at the same time, poured cold water on the argument that the Government is using the BCJ to battle crime in censoring radio content.
The commission on Tuesday imposed an immediate ban on the playing of music that, among other things, promotes or glorifies lottery scamming, the use of the illicit drug Molly, and illegal guns.
“The act and the regulations are very clear that you cannot promote illegality or you cannot promote content that violates your licence,” said Morgan during Wednesday’s post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House in St Andrew.
He said that where the Government has control over spaces, it must set the standard and an example of what is deemed appropriate.
“We’re not fettering people’s right to free speech. There are so many other portals you can use to promote your artistic freedom … . It’s not about fighting crime. It is about decency and standards,” he argued.
AGENT OF SOCIALISATION
The commission said the directive to radio stations reinforces its commitment to keeping airwaves free of harmful content, given the important role traditional media still plays as an agent of socialisation.
The use of the public airwaves to broadcast songs that promote or glorify illegal activity could give the wrong impression that criminality is an accepted feature of Jamaican culture and society, the regulator noted.
Morgan said it is the commission’s responsibility to govern radio content based on the Broadcasting and Radio Re-Diffusion Act.
He said content promoting scamming and drug use should not reach children through platforms the Government can manage.
Meanwhile, Morgan could not confirm if Cabinet has considered or is considering the request from the Broadcasting Commission to oversee and regulate Internet content.
The commission was, in 2019, seeking to go beyond the country’s airwaves when it urged the Government to give it broader powers to police social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook.
At that time, it said that a survey it conducted in October 2018 found that 87 per cent of participants were concerned about children being exposed to dangerous content on several social media platforms.
It proposed expanded oversight to halt the use of social media for the proliferation of hate speech, unethical advertising, disinformation, scamming, and terrorist recruitment.
“That was before my time as information minister. I am aware of the conversations that were taking place at the time, but I would not be privy to what was discussed in Cabinet. What I can do is to ask the Broadcasting Commission to give me information on it,” Morgan said.