Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, the Minister of Information, has revealed that the government is preparing new regulations for online media platforms.

Dr. Ceesay’s announcement follows President Adama Barrow’s accusation that media houses are inciting unrest aimed at destabilising the country.

Currently, Gambian laws only regulate radio stations, newspapers, and television stations.

However, Dr. Ceesay stated that new regulations are needed for online platforms to bring ‘sanity’ to the media landscape.

“What we are going to do now is find ways to regulate online media because if you are in the business of broadcasting news to the Gambian people, you must be regulated. We cannot allow anarchy in the media,” he said.

He added, “As a government, we need to bring sanity to the way the media operates in the country because they are everywhere. You don’t even know whether some individuals are part of the media or not.”

As concerns grow over the planned regulations, he clarified, “We are not going to censor anybody, but we expect professional reporting.”

“There should be standards, but currently, there are no standards when it comes to online media. There should be standards,” he stated.

By Adama Makasuba