Morocco’s Press Struggles to Comply: Only 13% of Media Outlets Meet New Code

The figures put forward by the Annual Report on the Implementation of Criminal Policy and the Action of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, for the year 2018, shed light on the difficulties experienced by media professionals in bringing themselves into compliance with the law.

In its role as guarantor of the practice of journalism, in accordance with the law, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is working tirelessly to ensure the balance between freedom of the press and expression, notes the MAP. The media points out that, according to the findings of this institution, "only 381 printed periodicals and electronic newspapers have complied with the provisions of the law and have declared their publication, out of a total of some 3,000 periodicals and electronic newspapers".

The Report also indicates that it is the capital, Rabat, which "concentrates the largest number of publications and electronic newspapers whose legal status is not in compliance with the provisions of the law, with 895 non-compliant publications and electronic newspapers out of a total of 936". This is followed, respectively, by the metropolis, Casablanca (639 out of 774) and the ochre city, Marrakech (334 out of 358).