Channel 13 has suspended its broadcast for two hours on Tuesday night in compliance with a measure taken by the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (Broadcom).
Channel 13's broadcast was suspended from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The station faced action over a social media broadcast of "The Front Office" program on April 17, which violated broadcasting practices.
This is the second penalty against Channel 13 in less than a month. On August 21, the channel was preparing to broadcast a rally attended by former President Abdulla Yameen when it was ordered to suspend operations.
Broadcom also issued a warning against Raajje TV after investigating a complaint submitted on March 16. The complaint was filed in connection with a broadcast of an opposition gathering on March 12.
During the gathering, opposition activist Mariyam Zubeir (Mandhy) spoke about the vape ban and its alleged connection to President Mohamed Muizzu and Sajidha Mohamed's teenage son.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the government-controlled parliament approved the media control bill to form the new Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission with powers to impose fines, revoke licenses and control social media.
