Mass media in Libya

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Mass media in Libya describes the overall environment for the radio, television, telephone, Internet, and newspaper markets in Libya.

Contents

The control of the media by Colonel Gaddafi's regime came to an end after the fall of Tripoli in August 2011, resulting in a mushrooming of new media outlets. Journalists are still experiencing extortion and blackmail, and are subject to assassinations since the beginning of the second civil war circa 2012 - 2016. Libya has adopted a few media laws outlawing the slander of the 17th February revolution, and active political parties that used to have affiliation with Gaddafi. [ citation needed ]

[Update 2016]: On 2013, Sharia law was adopted by Islamic Supreme court of Tripoli. Internet censorship has been invoked. Since the second civil war, journalists have been persecuted through kidnapping, assassination, and blackmail. Media outlets have been bombed and some strafed with small arms fire, over the course of 2013 - 2016. Freedom of speech has suffered a few blows since the killing of activists and bloggers making the country unsafe to freely report news or protest. These events appear to have happened during the period when Islamic brotherhood - or "more inclined to Islamic values" GNC political parties led by Nouri Abusahmein, who have issued a number of reforms or decrees that would formulate a more Islamic nation in Tripoli, that led to the creation of more fundamentalist laws (such as Internet censorship and adaptation of vague rules in reporting news banning critique of the February 17th revolution).

However, due to the breakup of country politically and the infighting between militia and authorities, and the rivalry to the Muslim brotherhood or, simply known as 'more salafi or fundamentalist Islamists' parties or groups, the country has fragmented in a plethora of different political beliefs. Including, the laws recently adopted by the Libyan Supreme court that affect the running of the country, which do not represent the rights and interests of all Libyan people, but seemingly, only the Islamic majority.

As of 2016, the new Unity government of national accord led by Faiez Seraj agreed to and organised with the help of the UN, is attempting to bring about political unity between the HoR of Tobruk and other governments to assess unity in the country, by removing the illegitimate and expired governments set up during the second civil war (such as Nouri Abusahmein's GNC), to in good faith re-balance the Libyan crisis.

Radio

First radio service began in 1939 in Libya. [1]

Radio stations
Radio
1.35 million (1997) [5] [ needs update ]

Television

Libyan Radio and Television (LRT) is the successor to the Gaddafi-era state broadcaster. More than 20 TV stations, many privately owned, broadcast from Libyan cities and from Middle East media hubs. [2]

Television receivers
889,232 receivers, 149 per 1000 inhabitants (2005) [6] [ needs update ]
Television broadcast stations

Telephones

In the course of the 2011 Libyan civil war, the government severed the physical communications links between the rebel-held east and the rest of Libya. However, the newer and less centralised Libyana network held copies of the HLR and engineers were able to restore some local services. With some assistance from the international community, and funded by an expatriate Libyan, a limited international service became available in mid-April. NTC officials were reported to be negotiating with Qtel, the Qatari-owned service provider, to restore full service to the rebel-held areas. [7]

Telephones
Mobile telephone operators

International dialing code : +218 [11]

Internet

Facebook, X, and YouTube played important roles in bringing news to the world audience during the revolt. Facebook remains a favorite platform to view and comment on the news.

Internet censorship
was applied in 2013 blocking 'pornographic material' however was found to block other non pornographic related websites, including proxy sites and some political websites that belonged to rival groups / governments.

[references outdated] Please update [2]

Social Media users
904,604 users, 14.0% (2010) [13]
Fixed broadband Internet subscriptions
Internet hosts
IPv4 addresses allocated
Top-level domain
.ly [11]
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

The Internet and telecommunications are mainly run by the government through a semi-private telecommunication company Libya Telecom & Technology. The company moderates and controls the use of the Internet in Libya.

The Internet and the Libyan revolution

In 2006 Reporters Without Borders (RWB) removed Libya from their list of Internet enemies after a fact-finding visit found no evidence of Internet censorship. [19] The OpenNet Initiative’s 2007–2008 technical test results contradicted that conclusion, however. [20] In 2009 ONI classified Internet filtering in Libya as selective in the political area and as no evidence in social, conflict/security, and Internet tools. [21]

Prior to the Libyan revolution, Internet filtering under the Gaddafi regime had become more selective, focusing on a few political opposition Web sites. This relatively lenient filtering policy coincided with what was arguably a trend toward greater openness and increasing freedom of the press. However, the legal and political climate continued to encourage self-censorship in online media. [20]

On 18 February 2011, the day after the first protests that were to lead to the 2011 Libyan revolution, Libya appeared to have withdrawn all of its BGP prefix announcements from the Internet for a short period, cutting it off from the rest of the global Internet. The prefix were re-advertised six hours later. [22]

There was no traffic for several hours on 19 and 20 February. Service picked up over the next few days to almost normal levels until, at 6:00am on 3 March, traffic effectively ceased (except for very limited satellite links). The government had severed the underwater backbone fibre-optic cable that runs along the coast, linking networks in the east and servers in the west of the country. Engineers reckon the break is between the cities of Misrata and Khoms, and may be a physical or electronic rupture. [7]

From 10 July traffic began increasing again, and after a brief shutdown on 15 July, it was reaching about 15% of its pre-17 February levels up to 22 August, the day Tripoli fell to the rebels. Traffic began increasing again at that point, and as of 2 September was reaching daily levels in excess of 50% and often as high as 75% of pre-war levels. [23]

The overthrow of the Gaddafi regime in the fall of 2011 did not end an era of censorship. In 2012, RWB removed Libya from its list of countries under surveillance. [24]

Newspapers

Following the fall of the Gaddafi regime in August 2011 former state-affiliated dailies have closed and new titles have appeared, many short-lived. Benghazi has emerged as a publishing hub. There are as yet few daily newspapers and print runs are small. [2]

Daily newspapers
Weekly newspapers
News agencies and websites

See also

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The media of Libya consists of a broad range of newspapers, TV channels, radio stations, and websites mostly set up during or after the Libyan Civil War, which removed previously tight restrictions on freedom of the press and freedom of speech. By the summer of 2012, there were over 200 registered newspapers, over 20 TV channels, and 200 radio stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libyan civil war (2011)</span> 2011 armed conflict

The Libyan civil war or the 2011 Libyan revolution, also known as the First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Zawiya on 8 August 2009 and finally ignited by protests in Benghazi beginning on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces who fired on the crowd. The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Liberation Army (Libya)</span> Libyan military organisation

The National Liberation Army, officially the National Liberation Armed Forces of the Free Libyan Republic, formerly known as the Free Libyan Army, was a Libyan military organisation affiliated with the National Transitional Council, which was constituted during the First Libyan Civil War by defected military members and civilian volunteers, in order to engage in battle against both remaining members of the Libyan Armed Forces and paramilitia loyal to the rule of Muammar Gaddafi. Its self proclaimed chief commander was General Khalifa Haftar, although the National Transitional Council preferred to appoint Major General Abdul Fatah Younes Al-Obeidi as its commander-in-chief. It had prepared for some time in portions of Eastern Libya controlled by the anti-Gaddafi forces for eventual full-on combat in Western Libya against pro-Gaddafi militants, training many men before beginning to go on the offensive. They have battled for control of Benghazi, Misrata, Brega, Ajdabiya, Zawiya and Ra's Lanuf as well as several towns in the Nafusa Mountains. They finally began the Battle for Tripoli in August 2011 when they attacked from the west of the city, as well as fomenting an internal uprising on 20 August.

Estimates of deaths in the 2011 Libyan civil war vary with figures from 15,000 to 30,000 given between March 2 and October 2, 2011. An exact figure is hard to ascertain, partly due to a media clamp-down by the Libyan government. Some conservative estimates have been released. Some of the killing "may amount to crimes against humanity" according to the United Nations Security Council and as of March 2011, is under investigation by the International Criminal Court.

Free speech in the media during the Libyan civil war describes the ability of domestic and international media to report news inside Libya free from interference and censorship during the civil war.

The Battle of the Misrata frontline was a battle during the Libyan Civil War between pro-Gaddafi loyalists and anti-Gaddafi forces on the western and southwestern outskirts of Misrata, the third largest city in Libya. It ended when anti-Gaddafi soldiers secured Zliten to the west and Tawergha to the south, establishing a significant buffer zone around the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011 Libyan Civil War and military intervention (19 March – May)</span>

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Free speech in the media during the Libyan civil war describes the ability of domestic and international media to report news inside Libya free from interference and censorship during the civil war.

References

  1. ↑ Yushi Chiba (2010). "Media History of Modern Egypt: A Critical Review". Kyoto Working Papers on Area Studies: G-COE Series. 84: 6. hdl:2433/155745.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Libya profile: Media", BBC News, 7 March 2012
  3. ↑ "Allibya FM". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "Tribute - Home". Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Radio receivers" in Libya > Media at NationMasters, 1997, accessed 6 July 2012
  6. ↑ "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" Archived 2015-03-29 at the Wayback Machine , World Statistics Pocketbook, Series V No. 31, Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations (New York), 2007, accessed 6 July 2012
  7. 1 2 "How 'rebel' phone network evaded shutdown", Evan Hill, Al Jazeera, 23 April 2011
  8. ↑ "Fixed telephone subscriptions 2000-2012", International Telecommunication Union, accessed 26 August 2013
  9. ↑ "Fixed telephone subscriptions 2000-2010", International Telecommunication Union, accessed 6 July 2012
  10. 1 2 "Mobile-cellular subscriptions 2000-2012", International Telecommunication Union, accessed 26 August 2013
  11. 1 2 "CIA World Factbook: Libya", U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 26 June 2012
  12. ↑ "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunication Union, accessed 26 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2010", International Telecommunication Union, accessed 16 April 2012.
  14. ↑ Fixed broadband subscriptions, International Telecommunication Union. Accessed on 26 August 2013.
  15. ↑ Fixed broadband subscriptions, International Telecommunication Union. Accessed on 8 April 2012.
  16. ↑ "Internet hosts" Archived 13 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine , CIA World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, accessed 26 August 2013
  17. ↑ "Internet hosts" Archived 13 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine , CIA World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, accessed 2 April 2012
  18. ↑ Select Formats Archived 2009-05-13 at the Wayback Machine , Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.
  19. ↑ List of the 13 Internet enemies Archived 2010-05-22 at the Wayback Machine Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 11 July 2006.
  20. 1 2 "ONI Country Profile: Libya", OpenNet Initiative, 6 August 2009
  21. ↑ "ONI Country Profiles", Research section at the OpenNet Initiative web site, a collaborative partnership of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; and the SecDev Group, Ottawa
  22. ↑ James Cowie (18 February 2011). "Libyan Disconnect". Renesys. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  23. ↑ Graphs of Google traffic Archived 29 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine , which give a reasonable picture of all Internet traffic, Google Transparency Report, accessed 6 July 2012
  24. ↑ Internet Enemies Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine , Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 12 March 2012
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