Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Fresh from banning the country's only daily newspaper, Samoa's government is now developing rules for all media outlets, that could include background checks on journalists.

A draft media protocol obtained by the Samoa Observer requires questions for the Prime Minister's weekly press conference to be submitted 24 hours beforehand. It also includes the possibility of due diligence checks on journalists including their background, reputation and political alignment.

The draft says the government's Press and Communications Division may issue warnings or bans for what it describes as "non-compliance". In response to the Observer's report the government says the draft protocol is about enhancing media engagement not gagging reporters.

The government also says the Journalist Association of Samoa was consulted on the protocol. In a statement it says submitting questions ahead of press conferences will allow for more detailed and accurate responses. 

"It seems that in an effort in to clamp down on any effort to control any negative reporting on his governance, this is what his [sic] resorting to...by imposing such measures."