Legislation

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Kyrgyzstan draft legislation empowers government to block ‘false information’ online

New York, June 25, 2020 – Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov should reject recently proposed legislation that would mark a serious step toward curtailing press freedom in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, the country’s parliament held the second and third readings of proposed legislation called “On Manipulating Information” and passed it…

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Anti-terrorism legislation threatens press freedom in the Philippines

Bangkok, June 10, 2020 – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte should reject pending anti-terrorism legislation or amend the law to ensure that it does not threaten press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 was submitted to Duterte’s office yesterday after its approval by the House of Representatives and Senate,…

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European Union flags fly during a special European Council summit in Brussels on February 21, 2020. (AFP/ Ludovic Marin)

CPJ joins call to strengthen EU legislation on dual-use technologies

Yesterday, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined seven other human rights and free expression groups in writing a letter to European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, requesting that human rights provisions be included in draft EU legislation concerning the exports of technology products such as surveillance software, which could be used for both civilian and…

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Brazilian Senate to vote on ‘fake news’ bill

New York, June 8, 2020 — Brazil’s Senate should drop proposed legislation seeking to regulate online content and so-called “fake news,” or amend the bill to ensure that free speech is protected, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Bill 2630, titled the “Lei das Fake News,” was originally scheduled for a vote on June…

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The Bolivian parliament is seen in La Paz on April 29, 2020. Bolivia recently passed an emergency decree broadening criminal sanctions for spreading disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters/David Mercado)

Bolivian decree broadens criminal sanctions for disinformation on COVID-19

Editors’ Note: On May 14, after CPJ published this article, the Bolivian representative to the Organization of American States announced that the government had issued a new decree eliminating the language that CPJ objected to in Decree 4231, and two other passages that had raised freedom of expression concerns, according to news reports and a…

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Police are seen in Montevideo, Uruguay, on January 8, 2015. Proposed legislation in Uruguay's parliament would criminalize insulting the police. (AFP/Mario Goldman)

Legislation proposed by new Uruguayan president criminalizes insulting police

Miami, May 14, 2020 — Uruguayan lawmakers should reject a proposed regulation criminalizing insulting police, and ensure that laws do not infringe on free expression, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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People are seen outside a bank in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 21, 2020. Turkey recently passed a financial regulation that may restrict economic reporting. (AFP/Ozan Kose)

New finance regulation threatens economic reporting in Turkey

Istanbul, May 11, 2020 — Turkish authorities should revise a recently passed financial regulation to ensure that it cannot be used against journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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People use computers in Lagos, Nigeria, on January 20, 2020. Nigerian journalists recently spoke with CPJ about their concerns over a proposed social media bill. (Reuters/Temilade Adelaja)

‘An attempt to gag the media’: Journalists on Nigeria’s proposed social media bill

At a public hearing on Nigeria’s social media bill held in Abuja last month, the voice of Chris Isiguzo, president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), rang clearly across the room: “This bill…seeks to pigeonhole Nigerians from freely expressing themselves.” The NUJ is “totally opposed” to it, he said.

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Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seen in the House of Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on March 23, 2020. The parliament is considering amendments to the country's penal code that could imprison journalists covering the COVID-19 outbreak. (AP/Tamas Kovacs/MTI)

Proposed Hungarian laws could imprison journalists covering coronavirus response

Berlin, March 24, 2020 — Hungarian lawmakers should not pass amendments to the country’s criminal code that threaten journalists with prison sentences for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A general view of the hemicycle shown ahead of a plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium on March 9, 2020. The parliament is drafting legislation on terrorist content online that could affect journalists reporting the news. (Reuters/Francois Lenoir)

EU online terrorist content legislation risks undermining press freedom

Brussels, March 11, 2020—The European Parliament should strengthen protections for journalism in draft legislation on terrorist content online, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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