Legislation

116 results arranged by date

A hooded man holds a laptop as blue screen with an exclamation mark is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. (Reuters/Kacper Pempel)

CPJ to EU: The time to act on spyware is now

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the European Union to include effective legal safeguards in its planned legislation to rein in the abusive use of spyware against journalists. Negotiations on the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), a draft EU law seeking to strengthen media freedom and pluralism in EU member states, are likely to…

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CPJ calls on Sri Lanka to reconsider bills likely to undermine press freedom

New York, October 18, 2023—Sri Lankan authorities should withdraw the proposed Online Safety Bill and Anti-Terrorism Bill or significantly amend them in line with international human rights standards, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. In parliament on October 3, Public Security Minister Tiran Alles tabled the Online Safety Bill, which would empower a five-member…

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People hold up their phones with their flashes on after a protest march on the fifth anniversary of the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Valletta, Malta, on October 16, 2022.

Malta must protect the press, 6 years after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 12 other press freedom groups on Monday called on Maltese authorities to bring to justice all those responsible for the killing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and to make the European Union’s smallest state safer for the media. Read the full statement below and read more about press…

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Flags flutter outside of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on June 12, 2023.

EU under pressure to defend journalists against abusive lawsuits

Brussels, October 11, 2023—As the European Union negotiates a landmark law to prevent the powerful and wealthy using malicious litigation to silence the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday called on the bloc to ensure that proposed legislation is robust and ambitious enough to protect the press. On Monday, the European Parliament and…

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The word spyware and binary code are displayed in this illustration on May 4, 2022.

Journalists call on European Parliament to ban spyware

Some 500 journalists have called on members of the European Parliament since September 14 to introduce an absolute ban on surveillance of the press through spyware in the upcoming European Media Freedom Act. Spyware, which secretly takes over electronic devices without being detected, puts journalists around the world at risk of increased harassment and violence and…

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers the State of the European Union address to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, on September 13, 2023.

CPJ joins call for EU to safeguard against undue state influence on media

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 14 other civil society groups on Thursday urged the European Parliament to protect the press against undue state influence by ensuring that member countries provide advertising revenue to national media in a fair and transparent way. The call comes as the European Parliament is concluding its internal negotiations over…

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Two policemen in blue uniforms stand in front of India's parliament building in New Delhi.

CPJ urges India to review ‘dangerous’ legislation that threatens press freedom

New York, August 25, 2023—Indian lawmakers must thoroughly review three bills that threaten the independence of the press, and the government should withdraw and significantly amend its new data protection law, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. “We are gravely concerned by the Indian government’s apparent attempts to pass a series of bills undermining…

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Shehbaz Sharif

CPJ urges Pakistan lawmakers to reconsider bills that could undermine press freedom

New York, August 4, 2023—Pakistan lawmakers should reject or revise four draft bills likely to undermine press freedom and consult with journalists and other stakeholders in a transparent review process before putting the bills to a vote, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On July 20, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb introduced in the lower…

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Aleksandr Lukashenko

New Belarusian media law allows for bans on foreign media

New York, July 6, 2023—In response to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signing into law of a bill strengthening control on the media on Saturday, July 1, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Belarus’ new media law translates long-standing arbitrary practices of silencing dissent and independent reporting into the legal sphere,” said Carlos…

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CPJ welcomes Hungary vote to partially decriminalize defamation

Berlin, May 25, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday welcomed a recent vote by the Hungarian parliament to partially decriminalize defamation and called on authorities to fully reform laws threatening the press with criminal penalties. “We welcome the decision by Hungary’s parliament to take a step in support of press freedom by partially decriminalizing…

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