{"id":96553,"date":"2025-10-01T05:42:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T05:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=96553"},"modified":"2025-10-01T05:42:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T05:42:00","slug":"no-were-not-regulating-social-media-sam-george-clarifies-as-govt-prepares-new-anti-misinformation-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=96553","title":{"rendered":"No, we\u2019re not regulating social media \u2013 Sam George clarifies as gov\u2019t prepares new anti-Misinformation Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Communication Minister, Sam Nartey George, has dismissed claims that government is seeking to regulate social media. <\/p>\n

He explained that the new bill being prepared by his ministry is not about controlling digital platforms but about addressing misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech across both traditional and new media.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt no point in time have we said we want to regulate social media. We simply said that the fact that you use new media for broadcast does not put you above the ethics of the broadcast journalist. You must hold yourselves to the same standards that traditional media hold,\u201d he said on JoyNews\u2019 PM Express on September 30.<\/p>\n

The Minister said what government is pushing for is self-regulation among content creators, backed by a legal framework that covers all media. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve discussed that with them, and then we are working on a misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and other incidental speeches bill. That is not just going to regulate social media, it will also regulate traditional media,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

He revealed that the legal drafting of the bill has been completed, and the next step is broad consultations. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to start the stakeholder engagements very soon, because the law itself has been crafted, and the legal work has been finished. We\u2019ll do the stakeholder engagements as part of the validation process before it goes to Cabinet and comes to Parliament,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Providing more context, Sam George highlighted the wide scope of work underway at the Communication Ministry, stressing that the misinformation bill is only one of several major initiatives. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working on 15 different pieces of legislation at the ministry. As we speak, part of my team is up in the north on the innovation and startup bill to regulate the innovation and startup space in our country and be able to attract proper VCs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Minister also outlined ongoing efforts to support Ghanaian content creators. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have had meetings with multiple associations of bloggers, and we\u2019ve been dealing with TikTok. We\u2019re getting TikTok to, for the first time on the continent, fly in a team to come and help our content creators do capacity building to improve their monetisation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that new payment systems are being developed to address long-standing barriers to online income. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, we\u2019ve set up an engagement between TikTok and GCB Bank to be able, in the absence of PayPal in the country, which we\u2019re also working on with the Bank of Ghana, to offer a payment channel for our content creators here,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n

Sam George insisted that the government\u2019s intention is not censorship but creating a balanced media environment where both traditional and digital outlets are subject to the same professional standards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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