Amman, Dec. 26 (Petra)-- The Profession Protection Committee of the Jordan Press Association (JPA) has reaffirmed that it is continuing to monitor social media accounts impersonating journalists and media professionals, particularly those conducting interviews with General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) students and their families.
In a statement issued on Friday, the committee said that these practices carried out by individuals who are not officially accredited journalists have harmed the Tawjihi examinations, the Ministry of Education, and professional journalism as a whole. The committee noted that such activities have negatively affected the reputation of the education sector by turning a national examination into entertainment and advertising content aimed at increasing views and profits.
The committee stressed that Jordanian legislation does not permit any individual or entity to engage in media or journalistic work through personal social media platforms unless they are affiliated with a licensed media institution, work on its behalf, and hold an official permit from the Media Commission specifying their assigned duties. Any form of independent or personal journalistic practice, it said, constitutes a violation of the law.
It further emphasized the need for those authorized to conduct journalistic filming or interviews to clearly declare the licensed entity they represent and to disclose, in published content, whether the filming is for marketing or advertising purposes.
The committee revealed that it is examining the legal consequences of a group of violators who continue to operate without licenses, indicating that options are leaning toward legal prosecution. Potential measures include requiring violators to pay an annual subscription fee of 1,000 Jordanian dinars, in addition to 1% of advertising revenues retroactively from the date their non-compliant accounts were established. They may also face legal action for impersonating journalistic and media roles.
According to the committee, any funds awarded by court rulings would be directed toward supporting emerging journalistic and media projects through a business incubator that the JPA is working to establish, aimed at promoting distinguished professional journalism.
The committee noted that violators had previously been given opportunities to regularize their status in accordance with the law, but their continued non-compliance has harmed licensed media institutions.
It also pointed out that official figures for 2025 indicate that more than 100 million Jordanian dinars in advertising revenue and media rights have leaked from licensed media outlets to impersonators and individuals operating in violation of regulations via social media platforms.
The committee stressed that responsibility for oversight does not rest solely with the Journalists Association. Rather, it is a collective responsibility involving the Media Commission, the Income and Sales Tax Department, the Audit Bureau, the Ministry of Government Communication, relevant ministries according to their mandates, and society at large, which it urged to reject opportunists and impersonators operating under the guise of so-called trending media content.
The committee called on relevant authorities to enforce existing legislation and strengthen oversight of content within their respective jurisdictions, warning that the continued spread of unlicensed accounts undermines professionalism and institutional media work.
It concluded by affirming that the JPA, through the committee, will continue to monitor violations to regulate the media landscape and protect the profession from abuses and impersonation. While the committee has previously relied on legal provisions with lighter penalties, it warned that it will move to apply stricter and more severe legislation against violators after all opportunities for compliance have been exhausted.
Finally, the committee urged officially employed journalists and media professionals working in licensed institutions to clearly disclose their institutional and professional identities on their personal accounts across all social media platforms.
//Petra// MF
