Media Regulation Law: Consolidating Responsible Professionalism
Ibrahim Muhammad: The Official Gazette (Kuwait Today) published in its issue No. 1811, issued today (Sunday), Decree-Law No. 102 of 2026 regarding the issuance of the Law Regulating Media. Article Two of the decree-law assigned to the Minister of Media the task of issuing the executive regulations for this law within six months from the date of publication of the decree-law in the Official Gazette, as well as issuing the necessary decisions to implement its provisions. Article Three obliged the owners of the media activities mentioned in this law and listed upon its implementation to regularize their status in accordance with its provisions within six months from the date of issuance of the executive regulations, with the license being revoked in case of failure to regularize the status within that period. Article Four repealed Law No. 3 of 2006 concerning Publications and Publishing, Law No. 61 of 2007 concerning Visual and Audio Media, and Law No. 8 of 2016 concerning the Regulation of Electronic Media, as well as any other provision conflicting with the provisions of this law. Article Five of the aforementioned decree-law required the ministers, each within their respective competence, to implement the provisions of this decree-law, which shall be published in the Official Gazette and take effect after six months from the date of its publication.
A Qualitative Leap: The explanatory memorandum for Decree-Law No. 102 of 2026 regarding the issuance of the Law Regulating Media stated that this law represents a comprehensive qualitative leap to restructure and update the media system in the state. The explanatory memorandum clarified that this law aims to address legislative gaps resulting from rapid technological developments while consolidating constitutional principles governing press freedoms and freedom of expression. It emphasized that the media environment has undergone radical transformations due to the digital leap, which has reshaped concepts of broadcasting, publishing, and influence.
The memorandum explained that this law is based on flexible legislative engineering, where the legislative text focused on establishing fixed general principles and provisions, referring detailed, procedural, and emerging technical matters to its executive regulations to ensure rapid and efficient adaptation to technological changes. The explanatory memorandum pointed out that this law allocated space to affirm the general and constitutional principles governing media activity, foremost among them guaranteeing freedom of opinion, expression, press, printing, and publishing.
Freedom is Guaranteed: The explanatory memorandum defined the scope of regulating media patterns that emerged over time, such as technical terms related to broadcasting, rebroadcasting, frequency, channel, station, and programs, as well as new concepts like electronic media, electronic media entity, its owner, and user, the electronic domain, and social media platforms. It affirmed that freedom of opinion is guaranteed and that every person has the right to express and publish their opinion by speech, writing, or otherwise, without prejudice to rights and freedoms and within the limits prescribed by law to protect public order, morals, respect for the rights, dignity, and reputation of others, and to preserve national security and national unity. It also affirmed that freedom of the press, printing, publishing, and media is guaranteed and regulated by the provisions of this law; thus, the media activities stipulated therein and books and publications displayed at official book fairs are not subject to any prior censorship. However, the activity of displaying cinematic films, books, and other non-periodic publications printed or published within Kuwait is subject to prior permission from the competent ministry before printing, circulation, and publication.
Professional Protection: In the details of the law’s articles, judicial police officers were assigned to monitor the implementation of its provisions, prove violations, enter premises for inspection and seizure, and draw up reports. Investigation, prosecution, and indictment in all its crimes were made the exclusive jurisdiction of the Public Prosecution, in line with the general principle established in the Kuwaiti Constitution that the Prosecution holds the authority to pursue public action on behalf of society, and trials are under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Court of the Supreme Court, with judgments appealable before the Court of Appeal. The law obliged the publication of final judicial rulings and administrative penalty decisions in the Official Gazette.
It guaranteed the right to obtain information, statistics, and data from government entities and obliged them to facilitate this for media institutions, without violating legally mandated confidentiality, national security requirements, individual privacy, or the confidentiality of investigations. The law provided professional protection for practitioners of journalistic media professions, stipulating that they shall not be held criminally liable for what they publish or broadcast while practicing their licensed activities, provided they act in good faith, adhere to professional standards of accuracy and objectivity, exercise due diligence to verify the accuracy of information, and believe in its truth at the time of publication, thereby enhancing freedom of media work within its responsible framework. The law indicated that compensation claims for crimes committed through the media activities specified in this law shall be time-barred if not filed within six months from the date the injured party became aware of them, unless a criminal lawsuit is pending, in which case the limitation period begins from its expiration or the issuance of a final judgment therein.
Key Fines and Penalties:
• Anyone who publishes, republishes, broadcasts, or rebroadcasts an interview or meeting with a child without prior written permission from one of their parents, guardians, or custodians shall be punished with a fine not less than 1,000 dinars and not exceeding 10,000 dinars. The criminal lawsuit in this crime shall not be initiated except upon complaint from one of the child’s parents, guardians, or custodians.
• Any caller, advertiser, or media practitioner who publishes any advertisement, marketing, or promotional material, directly or indirectly, for persons, products, services, places, companies, exhibitions, or events, for compensation or free of charge, or conducts competitions, or distributes or offers gifts, without obtaining a license from the competent ministry, shall be punished with a fine not less than 1,000 dinars and not exceeding 50,000 dinars.
• Any caller, advertiser, or media practitioner who publishes any advertisement without including a clear and explicit indication that it is an advertising or promotional material, or publishes an advertisement containing inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete information contrary to the truth, aimed at deceiving consumers, shall be punished with the same penalty, according to the conditions and controls specified in the executive regulations of this law.
• Any practitioner of a media activity stipulated in this law who receives financial funding or support, directly or indirectly, from any person or entity, with the purpose of influencing public opinion within Kuwait or directing media content, without obtaining prior permission from the competent ministry and after coordination with relevant state entities, shall be punished with the same penalty.
• Anyone who obstructs the work of judicial police officers or accounting auditors, or prevents them from performing their duties, in accordance with the provisions of this law, shall be punished with a fine not less than 1,000 dinars and not exceeding 20,000 dinars.
• Anyone who practices any of the media activities stipulated in this law without a license shall be punished with a fine not less than 1,000 dinars and not exceeding 10,000 dinars. The same penalty applies to anyone who violates a closure order issued by the competent ministry, pursuant to Article 61 of this law, without a final judgment or decision from the competent Administrative Court annulling it.
• A licensee shall be punished with a fine not less than 1,000 dinars and not exceeding 20,000 dinars if they violate the controls for practicing media activities. The same penalty applies to anyone who possesses broadcasting and rebroadcasting equipment or devices without obtaining approval from the competent ministry, with confiscation of such equipment or devices.
• Anyone who violates a ruling or decision issued by the Court regarding blocking, closure, suspension, or ban on appearance, in accordance with the provisions of this law, shall be punished with a fine not less than 1,000 dinars and not exceeding 20,000 dinars.
15 Prohibitions to Avoid:
1. Do not infringe upon the divinity, the Holy Quran, the Prophets, the Companions, or the constants of Islamic Sharia, or insult any heavenly religion or other religious beliefs.
2. Do not subject the Amir of the State to criticism, challenge, mockery, or insult, or any form of offense.
3. Do not attribute any statement or action to the Amir of the State or the Crown Prince without special written permission from the Amir’s Diwan or the Crown Prince’s Diwan, as appropriate.
4. Respect the system of government in the state, do not subject it to any form of insult, and do not call for, incite, or promote the overthrow of the system of government or its change by force or any other illegal means.
5. Do not harm the state’s foreign relations, insult other countries or their leaders, or publish content conflicting with the state’s supreme interests domestically and internationally.
6. Do not incite sectarian, denominational, or tribal sentiments, or subject any component of society to insult or incitement to violence, hatred, and terrorism, or call for joining terrorist groups or promoting their ideas.
7. Do not infringe upon public morals, or publish content encouraging deviation, lewdness, or obscenity, or engage in any illegal activity.
8. Respect individual privacy, do not infringe upon private life, or defame, insult the dignity, beliefs, financial status, or reputation of individuals.
9. Do not publish or circulate any content exposing children to exploitation or abuse, violating their privacy, or depicting them in situations or actions inappropriate for their age or religious and social values.
10. Do not publish or circulate any content inciting or promoting the commission of crimes, such as drug or psychoactive substance use or trafficking, gambling promotion, arms and explosives trafficking, or human trafficking.
11. Pursue accuracy and do not publish, broadcast, or circulate false, misleading, or rumor-based news, statements, or forged documents, or incorrect information that harms public interest or public order, or causes panic among people.
12. Do not publish or circulate any content harming the value of the national currency or leading to undermining confidence in the national economy.
13. Do not publish any content related to secret official communications, agreements, or treaties before their official announcement, or what the law stipulates as confidential.
14. Do not publish the content of books, publications, and audiovisual works, or parts thereof, that have previously been determined as not approved for publication or circulation.
15. Any other standards specified by the executive regulations of this law.
Key Provisions of the Law:
• Subjecting advertising, promotion, and marketing via social media platforms to licensing, whether for compensation or free of charge, when the content targets an audience in the country.
• Requiring the applicant for an advertising and marketing license to be at least 18 years old, and setting the license duration at two years, renewable.
• Imposing a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 dinars for advertising and marketing without a license, and the same for failing to disclose advertising content or publishing misleading advertisements.
• Exempting personal accounts from electronic media licensing if their use is limited to personal purposes and does not involve regular professional or commercial media activity.
• Exempting company websites and accounts of licensed professionals from licensing if limited to introducing their activities, providing services and products, and communicating with customers within the limits specified by the law.
• Protecting practitioners of journalistic media professions from criminal liability for what they publish or broadcast within the framework of their profession, provided they act in good faith and adhere to professional standards, accuracy, objectivity, and information verification.
• Guaranteeing the right to obtain information, statistics, and government data according to controls, while respecting confidentiality, national security, individual privacy, and the confidentiality of judicial investigations.
• Prohibiting the publication of children’s images, interviews, or rebroadcasting thereof without prior written permission from one of the parents, guardian, or custodian, and fining violators between 1,000 and 10,000 dinars.
• Obliging media outlets to publish replies, corrections, and retractions free of charge, and prohibiting false and misleading news, privacy violations, and incitement to sectarianism.
• Administrative penalties include warnings, reprimands, fines, and closure, with the possibility of blocking, banning appearance, or publishing by judicial ruling according to cases specified in the law.
