Fake news bill ‘a gag order on free press’
The journalism ethics committee warned on Tuesday that a bill currently discussed in parliament claiming to target fake news is a guise to muzzle free speech in Cyprus.
In a statement, it charged this is the second time certain MPs have tried to criminalise fake news, ignoring warnings and opposition from the journalists’ union, ethics committee and publishers’ association.
The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) denounced the bill “and its chilling effect on press freedom.”
In a shared statement with the journalism ethics committee, it said a legislative amending seeking to criminalise the dissemination of fake news, threats, insults and obscene images online will head to plenum in September.
The amendment provides for the conversion of a series of civil offences into criminal offences, as well as a prison sentence of up to five years.
On July 3, the House legal committee discussed the bill with deputy Attorney General Savvas Angelides and committee chairman Nicos Tornaritis (Disy MP) supporting the amendment.
“It is the second time this year that some MPs have attempted to promote such an amendment on the criminalisation of fake news,” the journalism groups said.
They specified the support from Angelides and Tornaritis came amid strong opposition from Cyprus’ journalists’ union, ethics committee and publishers’ association.
During the discussion, the Cyprus Bar Association said the amendment in essence scrapped journalistic privacy and proposed that investigations of journalists be done only by order of the attorney general.
Angelides defended the bill saying families and young people were ruined by fake news, and this form of criminal activity must be addressed.
The journalism ethics committee urged authorities to follow the recommendations of the Council of Europe, the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which advise governments against adopting legal provisions criminalising disinformation.
It added that the best antidote to misinformation is the creation of a healthy ecosystem of information which favours media literacy, quality information, ethical journalism, independent and pluralistic media, decent working conditions for journalists and the promotion of a culture of transparency.
“Wherever repressive laws have been passed, they have proven to be ineffective, counterproductive, or even diverted from their official objective to intimidate journalists or encourage them to self-censor.”
The ethics committee along with the IFJ and EFJ called on Cyprus’ parliament “to comply with European legal standards and to withdraw this amendment to the criminal code.”
Cyprus’ press freedom index dropped 10 points in 2024 according to Reporters Without Borders (RWB). The country ranks at 65th out of 180 countries, down from 55th place in 2023.
Late last year, it emerged that Cyprus was one of seven countries that supported a clause in the European Media Freedom Act that would have allowed spying on journalists.