The Minister of Communication, Mr. Mohamed Meziane, insisted, Thursday in Algiers, on the need for national media to ensure, through the programs broadcast during the month of Ramadhan, to preserve the authenticity of the Algerian people, a reflection of their rooted identity, and to banish all forms of violence.
During a plenary session at the National People’s Assembly (APN), devoted to oral questions, Mr. Meziane urged the media to “offer a quality national product during the month of Ramadhan, given its role in highlighting national values and promoting national cultural identity”.
After mentioning some aspects that sparked public outrage in programs broadcast at the beginning of the month of Ramadan, the Minister of Communication reaffirmed “the need to demonstrate professionalism, respect professional practices and comply with the legal texts governing this area”.
In this regard, he recalled the legal rules to which the media are bound, in particular the law on information, which stipulates in its article 3 that information is an activity freely exercised “in respect of the national religious reference, national identity and the constants of the nation”.
“The national media are required to respect the law and not to undermine the national identity”, he said, stressing that the ministry, which attaches the greatest importance to it, makes sure to remind people of this during periodic meetings with the directors of media establishments.
He also praised “the level of awareness of the Algerian citizen and his attachment to his values that he defends on social networks”.
In response to a question on the mechanisms guaranteeing the broadcasting of Algerian television channels in regions of Africa, Asia and America, Mr. Meziane affirmed that “as part of the implementation of the instructions of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the State has adopted the strategy of satellite broadcasting, in order to create a communication bridge between the Algerian community abroad and the motherland”.
He stressed, in this regard, the importance of live broadcasting, as an “effective means of disseminating Algeria’s positions internationally”.
Referring to the recurring cyberattacks against Algeria, a consequence of “our country’s commitment to its positions of principle and the pursuit of its global renaissance project”, the Minister highlighted the State’s efforts to counter these attempts based on the dissemination of false and misleading information about Algeria.
“Aware of the seriousness of these attacks that spread false information against Algeria, the State, in accordance with the instructions of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, is implementing the necessary protection and proactive response mechanisms, relying on the Cybersecurity Center,” he said.
In this context, the Minister continued, the Communication sector contributes to the fight against this “dirty war”, through “the development of a legal system in line with developments in the digital world” in order to “thwart intrusion attempts” and “protect national electronic sites”, but also by “adopting technical mechanisms aimed at developing national media in order to enable them to face cyberattacks, by strengthening digital security and using technologies to detect all false content and protect sensitive data”.
In this regard, the Minister stressed the importance of training in this area, through the organization of workshops dedicated to the detection and fight against cyberattacks and awareness campaigns.