The Gambia’s leading media institutions, civil society organisations, and academic groups have roundly rejected a government proposal to require the registration of journalists, online media outlets, and even social media users.
In a strongly worded resolution issued after an emergency meeting at the Gambia Press Union (GPU) on April 8, a broad coalition denounced the plan as an attack on press freedom and freedom of expression.
The new regulations, drafted by the Ministry of Information and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), would introduce mandatory state-controlled registration for journalists, media houses, and so-called “social media users with significant public reach” (SPURs).
The proposal also seeks to moderate online content, a move the signatories say would reverse years of progress toward greater media independence since the end of Yahya Jammeh’s rule.
According to the resolution, these measures “give unlawful and arbitrary powers to the government to decide who practices journalism or not” and amount to “state censorship, news content moderation and interference with the rights of journalists to independently report and make content decisions without interference.”
The GPU and its allies stress that PURA’s legal mandate is limited to technical spectrum management and broadcast licensing, not the supervision of journalism or online expression.
They argue that the proposed regulations far exceed PURA’s statutory powers and would violate The Gambia’s 1997 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, press, and expression.
The organizations backing the resolution include the Media Council of The Gambia, the Newspaper Publishers Association, the Broadcasters Association, the Gambian Online Media Association, the Women Journalists’ Association of The Gambia, and more than a dozen other groups from across the country’s media and civil society landscape.
“We cannot participate in the proposed consultations on the Broadcasting and Online Content Regulations, 2026,” the resolution states, warning that any involvement would “legitimise the proposed state-controlled system of accreditation and registration.”
The coalition is urging all journalists and media houses to boycott any government workshops or initiatives linked to the new regulations and to refuse registration with PURA.
The group also expressed alarm at the extension of the registration regime to social media users, calling it “incompatible with freedom of expression.”
They cite international human rights standards, including the United Nations’ own declarations, which affirm that licensing or registration systems for journalists are at odds with free expression.
The coalition recalls that a similar effort to regulate the media through the National Media Commission Bill in 2002 was repealed after public outcry and legal challenges.
If the new regulations are enacted, the organizations have pledged to challenge them in both domestic and regional courts.
In addition to rejecting the proposal, the resolution calls on the government to:
- Support and strengthen the Media Council of The Gambia, which operates as an independent self-regulatory body for the media.
- Review and reform existing laws—such as the Cybercrime Bill and criminal statutes on “false publication”—in line with international freedom of expression standards and recommendations from the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC).
- Abandon any plans to impose general registration or licensing requirements on journalists or online media outlets.
The resolution concludes with a stark warning: “The right to express oneself through the media shall not be subject to any undue legal or administrative restrictions.”
The signatories urge the government to uphold its constitutional and international obligations and protect the hard-won gains in media freedom.
The statement was endorsed by a wide spectrum of Gambian media and civil society organizations, including the Gambia Press Union, Media Council of The Gambia, Newspaper Publishers Association, Broadcasters Association, Gambian Online Media Association, Women Journalists’ Association of The Gambia, Young Journalists’ Association of The Gambia, Sports Journalists’ Association of The Gambia, Network of Community Radio, Network of Agricultural Communicators, Association of Health Journalists, Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice, African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearance, Alliance of Victim-Led Organisations, The Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, and the Media Academy for Journalism and Communication.
