Legislation

New York, March 22, 2022 – In response to the newly proposed legislation penalizing the distribution of “fakes” concerning the Russian government’s activities abroad, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Russian legislators and President Vladimir Putin should drop new amendments banning so-called ‘fakes’ and allow free reporting about the war in Ukraine,”…

Paris, March 3, 2022 – Russian lawmakers should not pass a draft law that would threaten to imprison journalists for sharing information about the country’s recent invasion of Ukraine, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s legislature, is scheduled to consider legislation on Friday that would impose…

New York, February 22, 2022 – Pakistan authorities must immediately revoke a recently enacted ordinance that further criminalizes freedom of expression in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, February 20, President Arif Alvi enacted amendments to the 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, increasing the prison term for online defamation…

Stockholm, February 10, 2022 – Azerbaijan authorities should repeal a newly enacted media law that increases state control of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On Tuesday, February 8, President Ilham Aliyev enacted the law “On Media,” which replaces existing laws governing media outlets, according to news reports and a copy of…

New York, February 2, 2022 – Russian authorities should ensure that international journalists can work freely and safely and are not singled-out by new medical regulations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On December 29, 2021, new amendments to two laws – “On legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation” and “On…

Bangkok, January 31, 2022 – Myanmar authorities should scrap proposed cybersecurity legislation that would severely threaten press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. In a letter dated January 13, Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, controlled by the country’s military since the February 2021 coup, stated that a decision had been made to…

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 16 other media and press freedom organizations in a letter calling on Polish President Andrzej Duda to veto an amendment to the country’s broadcast media law. The letter states that the amendment “poses a fundamental threat to media freedom and pluralism in Poland,” and calls it a “direct…

Miami, December 10, 2021 – Colombian President Iván Duque should veto a portion of the anti-corruption bill recently passed by the country’s legislature that threatens press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 6, the Colombian Chamber of Representatives passed Bill 369, the “Anti-Corruption Bill,” which includes an article that could be…

Washington, D.C., November 1, 2021 ­­— The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today that Iran’s parliament is moving ahead with a restrictive internet bill, despite objections from citizens and international observers.   The legislation, the Cyberspace Users Rights Protection and Regulation of Key Online Services Bill, was undergoing review by a parliamentary subcommittee in…

Washington, D.C., October 1, 2021 — Maldives legislators must reject a provision of the proposed Evidence Bill that would allow courts to compel journalists and media outlets to reveal their sources, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The bill, which CPJ reviewed, includes a broad provision allowing courts to order outlets and journalists to…