Supreme Court stops NMC over new media law

A seven-member Supreme Court panel has placed ice on the implementation of content authorization law being spearheaded by the National Media Commission (NMC).

The law would have required Ghana’s media houses to submit a document of their programme line-up to the Commission for approval before broadcasting until the final determination of the case is reached.

The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) filed the suit to challenge the constitutionality of the NMC's new law. According to GIBA, some of the regulations are inconsistent with the 1992 Constitution which guarantees unfettered media freedom.

The Content Standards Regulation 2015 also entreats all radio and television stations to seek content authorization from the NMC before airing a particular programme or in default pay a fine or serve between two and five yea