Media Law

26 results arranged by date

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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Greek journalist

New Greek criminal code amendment threatens journalists with jail for spreading ‘false’ information

Berlin, December 8, 2021 — Greek lawmakers should revoke an amendment to the country’s criminal code that threatens journalists with prison sentences for spreading what the prosecution deems “false” information, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 11, 2021, Greek lawmakers approved an amendment to Article 191 of the country´s criminal code that…

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A market stall sells newspapers in Yangon, in June 2019. Journalists in Myanmar say their reporting is still met with legal action and censorship. (CPJ/Shawn Crispin)

From conflict zones to courtrooms, Myanmar’s journalists are under fire

Hopes for greater press freedom when Myanmar moved to quasi-democratic rule were quickly quashed with the jailing in 2017 of two Reuters reporters. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have their freedom again, but journalists and press freedom activists who met with CPJ’s Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn Crispin in Yangon in June said that…

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Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama speaks to the media outside a polling station near Tirana on June 30. A press freedom mission raised several issues with Rama last month, including unresolved attacks on journalists and draconian laws. (Reuters/Florion Goga)

Albania’s journalists tread fine line when covering organized crime, politics

The intersection of organized crime, corruption and politics in Albania is impacting the country’s press. During a joint mission by a coalition of press freedom organizations to Tirana in June, CPJ Europe Correspondent Attila Mong spoke with journalists about challenges including threats, attacks, political interference, and legal harassment.

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A banner of Tanzanian President John Magufuli hangs on a wall around a tanzanite mine, in April 2018. CPJ and other organizations are calling on the Human Rights Council to address a crackdown on journalists, human rights defenders, and other groups in the country. (AFP/Joseph Lyimo)

Human Rights Council should address Tanzania crackdown

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 37 other non-governmental organizations today sent a letter to member and observer states of the United Nations Human Rights Council, asking them to address the crackdown on human rights in Tanzania at the 41st session of the council.

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A vendor sells newspapers showing the results of Mexico's presidential elections, in Mexico City, in July 2018. Mexico's new government has said it will address the opaque practice of government advertising in media. (AFP/Ulises Ruiz)

Mexico’s press question president’s commitment to press advertising reform

When Andrés Manuel López Obrador won Mexico’s presidential elections last year with a promise to drastically cut the millions of dollars the government spends on press advertising each year, it appeared to signal the end to an opaque system that has been criticized as a way for governments to encourage favorable coverage.

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Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks during a press conference in Addis Ababa, in August 2018. Since Abiy's election, conditions for Ethiopia's journalists have improved, but some challenges remain. (AFP/Michael Tewelde)

Under Abiy, Ethiopia’s media have more freedom but challenges remain

During a trip to Addis Ababa in January, it was impossible to miss the signs that Ethiopian media are enjoying unprecedented freedom. A flurry of new publications were on the streets. At a public forum that CPJ attended, journalists spoke about positive reforms, but also openly criticized their lack of access to the government. At…

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The front page of a March 20 newspaper shows President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who resigned the previous day. Kazakhstan's press was restricted and censored under his long rule. (Reuters/Pavel Mikheyev)

Nazarbayev’s long rule leaves toxic legacy for Kazakhstan’s media

In 2011, I observed an astonishing spectacle in the Respublika newspaper offices in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s financial capital. Journalists were putting a modern-day twist on samizdat, a practice in the Soviet Union whereby dissidents laboriously copied illicit material to circumvent censorship.

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A banner of Tanzanian President John Magufuli adorns a wall around the country's tanzanite mines. Magufuli's government has imposed a series of restrictions on rights, including freedom of expression. (AFP/Joseph Lyimo)

CPJ joins call for Tanzanian government to respect human rights

CPJ, along with 64 other non-governmental organizations, today wrote to Tanzanian President John Magufuli to express concern about a worrying decline in the respect of human rights, including freedom of expression.

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A cell phone is used to film a homelessness protest in Sao Paulo in December 2017. Ahead of October elections, police are tasked with combating the spread of fake news. (Reuters/Nacho Doce)

Ahead of elections, Brazil’s police announce plan to crackdown on ‘fake news’

In November last year, Brazilian police stopped a truck on a highway in the center of the country and, after a thorough search, discovered more than six tons of marijuana stashed in false compartments. The truck had the name Romanelli on the side, but police said it was a label designed to confuse and that…

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