Among the main provisions of the text, already approved by the lower house of parliament on March 28, is a ban on Algerian media from benefiting from any "funding" or "direct or indirect material assistance from any foreign party" under penalty of "criminal sanctions provided for by law".
While the text stipulates that "professional secrecy is a right for journalists in accordance with the laws and regulations in force", it specifies that journalists are obliged to disclose their sources to the courts if it so requires.
In addition, the new law de facto excludes dual nationals from the right to own or be shareholders in a media outlet in Algeria.
Members of the upper house of parliament, however, accompanied their approval with "a reservation" on article 22 of this text concerning the already existing obligation for journalists to obtain "accreditation" to work in Algeria for foreign media.
The senators froze this article, judging in particular "insufficient" the 30-day period provided for obtaining said accreditation from the date of submission of the application.
This new law provides for a fine of up to one million dinars (nearly 7,000 euros) for "any person exercising the activity in Algeria on behalf of a media under foreign law without accreditation".
"We have to wait for the implementing texts to know if we are facing an innovative law compared to the old one or that reproduces the same pattern as the old one," said Chérif Driss, a professor of political science at the University of Algiers.
He deplores the fact that "the implementing texts are always slow to come" in Algeria while they "make it possible to clarify things".
A pitfall also raised during the debates by several senators who deplored the lack of implementing legislation to accompany this bill.
Algeria is ranked 134th out of 180 countries in the 2022 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom index.
On 2 April, Algerian press boss Ihsane El Kadi, prosecuted for "foreign financing" of his company, was sentenced to five years in prison, three of which were in prison.
© 2023 AFP