Ministerial Damage-Setting Powers Create Business Uncertainty

Section 71(5) grants the Minister unconstrained authority to prescribe the "scope, extent and range of monetary damages" without parliamentary oversight, defined criteria, or transparency requirements. This prevents businesses from accurately calculating compliance costs, obtaining insurance coverage, or conducting risk assessments. Combined with authorization of punitive damages without clear standards (Section 71(4)(c)) and cumulative enforcement through administrative penalties (69) and license suspension (71), this creates unpredictable financial liability that undermines business planning and investment decisions—particularly for smaller publishers and media outlets that cannot absorb undefined damage exposure.