Censorship

In jurisdictions around the world, there are laws or administrative practices that can be abused to censor critical voices on- and offline.

Criminal defamation laws are easily abused by authorities to limit scrutiny and to stifle public debates, and are often used against journalists reporting on controversial issues, or members of the public expressing themselves online.

Equally, laws that criminalise so-called “false news” provide public authorities with a powerful instrument to control journalistic activities: allowing public officials to decide what counts as truth is tantamount to accepting that the forces in power have a right to silence any opposition.    Like ‘hate speech’ or terrorism, the notion of “fake news” is too vague to prevent subjective and arbitrary interpretation.

Laws that seek to deal with the dissemination of unlawful content on social media also often fail to comply with international standards, by being too broad and therefore encouraging social media platforms to over-censor.

While forms of censorship have evolved with the growth of the internet as a space for expression, efforts by states to restrict the right to freedom of opinion and expression through vague and broad provisions are still a frequent occurrence.

Malaysia: Review the Communications and Multimedia Act now
19.08.2025 9 min read

Malaysia: Review the Communications and Multimedia Act now

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Kyrgyzstan: Mass Media Law must be improved to protect independent journalism
14.08.2025 8 min read

Kyrgyzstan: Mass Media Law must be improved to protect independent journalism

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UK: Investigate potential Chinese influence in Telegraph acquisition
13.08.2025 11 min read

UK: Investigate potential Chinese influence in Telegraph acquisition

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Belarus: Five years after rigged elections, the fight for freedom endures
07.08.2025 4 min read

Belarus: Five years after rigged elections, the fight for freedom endures

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Belarus: Anti-extremism laws put digital rights at risk
07.08.2025 2 min read

Belarus: Anti-extremism laws put digital rights at risk

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Serbia: EU must take action as media freedom continues to rapidly decline
11.07.2025 9 min read

Serbia: EU must take action as media freedom continues to rapidly decline

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Tunisia: Release Sonia Dahmani and end weaponisation of cybercrime law
11.07.2025 4 min read

Tunisia: Release Sonia Dahmani and end weaponisation of cybercrime law

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Türkiye: State-backed attacks on Leman magazine must stop
07.07.2025 5 min read

Türkiye: State-backed attacks on Leman magazine must stop

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China: New Internet ID System a threat to online expression
25.06.2025 4 min read

China: New Internet ID System a threat to online expression

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