Audiovisual field cannot fall under monopoly, Minister

The public audiovisual field cannot fall under the monopoly of one party to the detriment of the other, insisted Wednesday, Communication Minister, Spokesman of the government, Nabil Benabdallah.

The minister recalled at the House of Representatives (lower house) question time, the reforms introduced in this respect, especially those "compelling national companies of audiovisual communications to respect pluralism and guarantee the equitable access to political parties and unions in accordance with their importance and representativeness"

"By virtue of the wide array of regulations that Morocco has developed today, he affirmed, it was devolved upon the authority of audiovisual communications (know by its French acronym HACA) to consider the objective criteria that guarantee pluralism and the equitable access to media of political parties and unions."

The HACA, Benabdallah continued, is also the watchdog that sees to it that rules be observed in the field of advertising.

The provisions of the audiovisual act, he explained, ban ads that cause prejudice to women or minors, those that lead the citizen astray and that harm companies and economic activities.

Touching on another issue, Benabdallah said a parliamentary TV channel will soon see light, as a study on the organizational, technical and human aspects of the project is almost finalized.