Legislative and judicial parameters for protecting social values from media abuse in light of Iraqi legislation and international conventions

Abstract

Media abuse particularly in the contemporary digital environment and its accompanying proliferation of (low-quality content), has become one of the most prominent challenges facing the value system of societies, given its infringement upon religious, familial, and moral values that form the basis of social cohesion and community stability.

          The research problem lies in the existence of legislative and technical shortcomings that limit the ability of current legal texts to confront emerging forms of media abuse in the digital space, especially given Iraqi legislation's reliance on traditional texts, such as Article 403 of the Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 (amended), in addition to the absence of precise legal definitions for concepts related to offensive media content. This has created practical problems related to balancing freedom of expression constitutionally guaranteed under Article (38) of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq for 2005, and the constitutional obligation to protect religious constants and family and social values stipulated in Articles (2) and (29) thereof.

The Iraqi legal system faces challenges related to the absence of specialized legislation for the digital space and the weak alignment of traditional texts with rapid technological developments, necessitating the development of the legislative framework and strengthening the judicial role to achieve balance between protecting social values and ensuring freedom of expression in the digital environment. To clarify the subject of the research, the legislative and judicial determinants for protecting social values ​​from media abuse in light of Iraqi legislation and international conventions, we will divide it into two sections, each containing two subsections.