Algeria suspends 4 TV channels for ‘misconduct’ over traffic accident coverage

By Abbas Mimouni and Betul Yilmaz

ALGIERS, Algeria/ ISTANBUL (AA) – Algeria suspended four private TV channels on Saturday for 48 hours over professional misconduct during coverage of a fatal traffic accident.

On Friday, a passenger bus fell into a river in central Algiers, leaving 18 people dead and 24 others injured.

In a statement, the National Independent Authority for Audiovisual Regulation (ANIRA) said El Bilad, El Hayat, El Watania, and Echorouk TV channels were suspended for 48 hours.

According to the statement, the authority found “serious professional breaches,” including interviewing injured people inside hospitals and intensive care units and harassing victims’ families.

The channels were also accused of broadcasting “disturbing images and sounds without prior warning” and “attempts to boost social media engagement at the expense of citizens’ dignity and privacy.”

The authority said the ban included both satellite broadcasting and live digital streaming "with a ban on downloading or republishing any new content on digital platforms during the suspension period, and the immediate removal of all violating content from websites, social platforms, and affiliated digital channels."