Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu signed a controversial media bill into law on Thursday, giving a new government-backed commission broader power to fine media outlets and even shut them down.

In its press release, the President’s Office maintained that the new law “seeks to prevent the spread of false information” and “establish a framework that upholds both the rights and responsibilities of journalists.” The Act dissolves the Maldives Media Council and the Broadcasting Commission and creates a new body, called the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission.

In the wake of the ratification, the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) has vowed to “initiate legal proceedings” and “[e]ncourage boycotting the election of commissioners under the Act,” according to a statement shared by the organization on X.

Foreign Minister Dr. Abdulla Khaleel recently shared that the law will not regulate “[p]ersonal social media accounts used in a private capacity”, clarifying that digital storage devices are “completely excluded from the scope of this bill.” He further explained on X that:

The bill seeks to create a unified regulatory framework by integrating the functions of the Maldives Media Council and the Broadcasting Commission into a newly formed Media and Broadcasting Commission.

President Muizzu’s ratification of the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Bill (Act No. 16/2025) comes despite warnings from the Committee to Protect Journalists and the MJA. The MJA previously  criticized the enactment of the law as a “draconian media control law” and a “transparent attempt to pave the way for the executive and legislature to take full control of the media.” The US embassy in Male also called on the government to uphold the right to freedom of expression and the press.

In a joint open letter to President Muizzu, shared in late August by Human Rights Watch, rights organizations expressed concerns with how journalists were excluded from the development process of the bill, raising an issue of transparency. Moreover, the letter cautioned that the new commission should not be considered independent, as four members are appointed by the President and three by Parliament.

The ruling People’s National Congress, which controls Parliament with a supermajority, pushed the bill through in just 29 days. During the bill’s development, lawmakers ignored a petition signed by 151 journalists, asking them to stop the law and later demanding due process.