Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage has formulated a regulation to require artistic productions to be classified and submitted to the National Bureau of Classification for approval 14 days prior to their publication.
The regulation dictates that any artistic production made or imported to the Maldives must be classified by the owner. The ministry stated the regulation aims to standardise the process of classifying the productions according to age group and determine whether they fit the standards. The regulation requires owners to classify cultural products such as film, sound recording, video games (electronic games), photos, drawings, performance art, television channels of re-broadcasting services, and advertisements.
The productions will be classified into the appropriate age group by evaluating the presented information, level of violence, sexual content, language, blood and gore, nudity, violation of child rights, and prejudice. Evaluations will also be conducted to determine whether the products show unIslamic behaviour in a positive light, whether they are in line with Islamic principles and Maldivian culture, and if the products harm national interests.
The classification bureau is required to notify the owner of the cultural productions whether they can be given the proposed classification within seven days. The regulation bans any cultural production that goes against Islamic principles or promotes unIslamic content. It also bans any production that threatens to undermine public peace or religious harmony, as well as any product that contains nudity or sexual imagery.
Furthermore, the regulation provides detail on the various classification signs. It also states that the classification bureau has the authority to issue fines between USD65-323 for the violation of the rules.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the Classifications Act in July 2022. The act specifies the criteria for classifying artistic productions imported to or produced in the Maldives. The act's primary purpose is to establish a system to ensure that artistic productions imported or produced for local audiences are categorised into appropriate age groups before publication.