Mohamed Faisal, the former Deputy Ambassador of the Maldives to the UAE, has claimed that the Media Control Bill, which is currently under consideration by the People’s Majlis, is a deliberate effort by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's government to stifle journalism and limit political discourse on social media.

In a post shared on social media platform ‘X’ on Saturday night, Faisal asserted that the bill is a deliberate attempt to obstruct social media accounts, especially those on ‘X’, associated with political figures, activists, and opposition groups.

He also disclosed that he has obtained information suggesting that, should the bill be approved, the government intends to work with a U.S.-based law firm to geo-block specific X accounts, rendering them unreachable within the Maldives. Faisal cautioned that this approach might eventually be applied to other significant platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.

Citing Articles 27 and 28 of the Maldivian Constitution, which safeguard freedom of expression and press freedom, Faisal emphasized that this is not a media reform bill but a perilous piece of legislation that infringes upon both the essence and the text of the Constitution.

Legal experts, he remarked, contend that this type of geo-targeted censorship is neither legally feasible nor in alignment with democratic ideals. Faisal noted that users from the Maldives constitute a small percentage of global users, approximately 200,000 accounts on ‘X’, which is under 0.01 percent of the overall user base, rendering it improbable for major platforms to adhere to such localized limitations.

The suggested legislation has faced significant backlash from various sectors of civil society. The Maldives Media Council, Maldives Journalists Association, and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), together with over 20 domestic and global organizations, have issued a public demand for the swift retraction of the bill.