MATT to meet JSC again

The Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) is asking the Attorney General for another chance to appear before a joint select committee (JSC) in order to properly present their position on the Cybercrime Bill 2017.

Members of the MATT executive made the statement yesterday at an emergency meeting to discuss strategy and keep members of the media informed about what was happening with the bill at TSTT’s hospitality suite at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain.

The Cybercrime Bill is currently before a joint select committee of Parliament but MATT expressed concerns about it, especially Clauses 8 and 12.

MATT president Vernon Ramesar said, “Our main concern is that we consider this bill to be potentially very very damaging to the profession of journalism and hindering us in our ability to carry stories that may be in the public’s interest.”

Joel Julien, vice-president of MATT said there were “logistical concerns” about MATT’s JSC appearance on March 13 which did not allow them to fully present their concerns about the bill’s potential to criminalise professional journalists as well as whistleblowers working in the public interest.

Initially, MATT called for exemptions for journalists, but Wesley Gibbings, president of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers, said that would not cover people like citizen journalists and bloggers. He, therefore, suggested a request for an exemption for journalism and its process of sending and receiving information. He said it was an issue of freedom of expression, and that should never be criminalised at any stage, with certain acceptable exceptions, such as that of national security. “Expression should never be criminalised. Freedom of expression is not only the person who is doing the expressing, but it involves the process of communication, and it also involves the recipient.”

During the meeting, MATT also appointed a steering committee to guide the association’s approach and strategy in dealing with the bill. The members of the committee include Julien, former MATT president Francesca Hawkins, Dr Sheila Rampersad, Mark Lyndersay and Kalifa Clyne.

The MATT executive asked that members of the media e-mail their concerns to help guide them as they move forward. The Association also has two hashtags, #shutuplegislation #pressfreedom which interested people could follow on Twitter and Facebook to keep up-to-date with the issue.