vigorous adherence to this principle. The Media
Law decreed by President Hamid Karzai in
December 2005, just before the national legislature was formed, included a ban on four broad
content categories: the publication of news contrary to Islam and other religions; slanderous or
insulting materials concerning individuals; matters contrary to the Afghan Constitution or criminal law; and the exposure of the identities of victims of violence. 18 A draft amendment of the law
circulating in 2006 added four additional proscribed categories: content jeopardizing stability,
national security, and territorial integrity of
Afghanistan; false information that might disrupt
public opinion; promotion of any religion other
than Islam; and “material which might damage
physical well-being, psychological and moral
security of people, especially children and the
youth.” 19
The independence of the media was also
brought into question by the March 2004 Media
Law enacted by the transitional government,
which handed the Minister of Culture and
Information important veto powers (e.g., foreign
agencies and international organizations may
print news bulletins only after obtaining permission from the Minister) 20 and leadership of a
Media Evaluation Commission that reviews
appeals of rejections of publishing licenses by
the Ministry of Information and Culture. 21 The
proposed amendment to the Media Law in late
2006 would dissolve the Media Evaluation
Commission and two other regulatory bodies, the
National Commission of Radio and Television
Broadcast, and an investigation commission that
reviewed complaints against journalists and
decided which cases should be forwarded to
courts for prosecution. 22
With the approval of the Telecommunications Services Regulation Act in 2005 (Telecom
Law), an independent regulatory agency called
the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority
(TRA) was created out of the merger of the
Telecommunications Regulatory Board and the
State Radio Inspection Department (SRID) under
the Ministry of Communications. 23 The TRA
assumed responsibility for telecommunications
licensing as well as promoting sustainable competition for all telecommunications services.
Licensing requirements are straightforward:
companies must abide by the law to be licensed
by the TRA, and only those with licenses can sell
telecommunications services. 24 Of the two types
of ISP licenses, transit and national licenses, only
transit licenses allow ISPs to establish international connectivity. 25 Part of the TRA mandate is
to protect users from the abuse of monopoly
market share: companies determined to have
“significant market power” must apply to have an
amended license 26 and are subject to additional
penalties for anti-competitive behavior.
27
A
license may be revoked if the licensee has broken the law or has failed to fix repeated breaches
in the agreement, has misleading or false information in their application, or does not pay the
fee even after a warning. 28
Under the Telecom Law, ISPs are dutybound to protect user information and confidentiality. 29 However, the TRA is also authorized to
demand the operator or service provider monitor
communications between users as well as
Internet traffic in order to trace “harassing, offensive, or illegal” telecommunications, although
what constitutes these prohibited communications is not specified. 30 Where an issue of national security or a criminal case is involved, operators and service providers must hand over the
required information and give the authorities
immediate access to their network. 31
In cases where there is no such immediate
need, the TRA still has the right to “relevant information” as long as the TRA has given two weeks’
notice. 32 In its Acceptable Use Policy, the
AFGNIC prohibits the use of the “.af” domain to
make any communications to commit a criminal
offense; racially vilify others; violate intellectual
property rights; and distribute, publish, or link
to pornographic materials that a “reasonable
242
Country Summaries
Law decreed by President Hamid Karzai in
December 2005, just before the national legislature was formed, included a ban on four broad
content categories: the publication of news contrary to Islam and other religions; slanderous or
insulting materials concerning individuals; matters contrary to the Afghan Constitution or criminal law; and the exposure of the identities of victims of violence. 18 A draft amendment of the law
circulating in 2006 added four additional proscribed categories: content jeopardizing stability,
national security, and territorial integrity of
Afghanistan; false information that might disrupt
public opinion; promotion of any religion other
than Islam; and “material which might damage
physical well-being, psychological and moral
security of people, especially children and the
youth.” 19
The independence of the media was also
brought into question by the March 2004 Media
Law enacted by the transitional government,
which handed the Minister of Culture and
Information important veto powers (e.g., foreign
agencies and international organizations may
print news bulletins only after obtaining permission from the Minister) 20 and leadership of a
Media Evaluation Commission that reviews
appeals of rejections of publishing licenses by
the Ministry of Information and Culture. 21 The
proposed amendment to the Media Law in late
2006 would dissolve the Media Evaluation
Commission and two other regulatory bodies, the
National Commission of Radio and Television
Broadcast, and an investigation commission that
reviewed complaints against journalists and
decided which cases should be forwarded to
courts for prosecution. 22
With the approval of the Telecommunications Services Regulation Act in 2005 (Telecom
Law), an independent regulatory agency called
the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority
(TRA) was created out of the merger of the
Telecommunications Regulatory Board and the
State Radio Inspection Department (SRID) under
the Ministry of Communications. 23 The TRA
assumed responsibility for telecommunications
licensing as well as promoting sustainable competition for all telecommunications services.
Licensing requirements are straightforward:
companies must abide by the law to be licensed
by the TRA, and only those with licenses can sell
telecommunications services. 24 Of the two types
of ISP licenses, transit and national licenses, only
transit licenses allow ISPs to establish international connectivity. 25 Part of the TRA mandate is
to protect users from the abuse of monopoly
market share: companies determined to have
“significant market power” must apply to have an
amended license 26 and are subject to additional
penalties for anti-competitive behavior.
27
A
license may be revoked if the licensee has broken the law or has failed to fix repeated breaches
in the agreement, has misleading or false information in their application, or does not pay the
fee even after a warning. 28
Under the Telecom Law, ISPs are dutybound to protect user information and confidentiality. 29 However, the TRA is also authorized to
demand the operator or service provider monitor
communications between users as well as
Internet traffic in order to trace “harassing, offensive, or illegal” telecommunications, although
what constitutes these prohibited communications is not specified. 30 Where an issue of national security or a criminal case is involved, operators and service providers must hand over the
required information and give the authorities
immediate access to their network. 31
In cases where there is no such immediate
need, the TRA still has the right to “relevant information” as long as the TRA has given two weeks’
notice. 32 In its Acceptable Use Policy, the
AFGNIC prohibits the use of the “.af” domain to
make any communications to commit a criminal
offense; racially vilify others; violate intellectual
property rights; and distribute, publish, or link
to pornographic materials that a “reasonable
242
Country Summaries