Journalists Syndicate head Khaled Elbalshy said Sunday that a syndicate-backed freedom of information bill had been submitted to parliament after securing the signatures of 60 lawmakers, the first legislative step toward implementing recommendations from the syndicate’s sixth general conference.
The Journalists Syndicate held its sixth conference in December 2024, which concluded with 70 recommendations to reform the journalism sector. Among the most prominent were adopting a bill regulating the right to access information and calling for legislation to abolish prison sentences for publishing offenses.
According to a statement issued by the syndicate Sunday, Elbalshy met Egyptian Social Democratic Party MP Maha Abdel Nasser at the syndicate’s headquarters in the presence of board member Mahmoud Kamel and Mohamed Bassal, rapporteur of the Freedoms and Legislation Committee at the sixth general conference.
Abdel Nasser sponsored the bill and collected the required lawmakers’ signatures, while Elbalshy announced a syndicate campaign to support its debate and passage.
Elbalshy said freedom of information is not a demand specific to journalists but a right that serves society as a whole, supporting investment and scientific research and helping combat rumors.
The Media Development Committee formed by the prime minister had adopted the syndicate’s bill as part of a package of legislative proposals that also includes abolishing prison sentences in publishing cases, Elbalshy added.
Abdel Nasser said the bill was submitted during the final week of the first session of the third legislative term after securing the required number of signatures. She said passage would require support from journalists, civil society organizations and political parties, and noted that the government could submit a parallel bill for parliament to consider alongside it.
She added that passing the law would require support from journalists, civil society organizations and political parties, noting that the government could submit a parallel bill, in which case parliament would consider both.
She said access to official information would help curb rumors and serve not only journalists but citizens, researchers and students. Even lawmakers, she said, sometimes struggle to obtain information needed to carry out their oversight and legislative duties.
Bassal said the latest version of the bill was drafted after reviewing previous proposals and drawing on international experience, in line with Article 68 of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to obtain official information, data, and documents.
The bill proposes establishing an independent legal entity called the “Authority for the Protection of Freedom of Information” to monitor compliance by public and private entities, oversee disclosure procedures, promote a culture of access to information, and train information officers within institutions.
The bill is based on four main principles set out in Article 68 of the Constitution.
It guarantees citizens free access to information, data, statistics and documents, while allowing disclosure to be restricted by court order or under specific legislation. It also imposes penalties for violations and applies its provisions to public employees, executive officials and elected representatives.
The bill would also require the state to regularly document, restore, digitize, archive and preserve government, parliamentary and judicial records.
According to the syndicate statement, the bill updates proposals drafted between 2016 and 2020, addressing earlier shortcomings and objections while incorporating more recent international experience and domestic oversight mechanisms.
The bill would require public entities to maintain updated websites and regularly disclose information. It sets procedures for requesting data and appealing refusals, establishes secrecy classifications and specifies when information may be withheld or must be disclosed in the public interest.
It also requires immediate disclosure of information with major political, economic, or social impact when delaying publication could cause public harm. The Authority for the Protection of Freedom of Information could also require early disclosure in certain cases, including matters involving public health, corruption, or serious violations of the law.
