News

Greece: Full scale of surveillance on journalists must be unearthed

10/10/2022

MFRR partners back calls for the testing of mobile devices belonging to journalists in Greece who suspect they may have been targets of surveillance. The recent scandals require full transparency and accountability, and have underscored deepening concerns about the erosion of media freedom under the New Democracy government

Slovakia: Deputy PM’s attacks undermined government’s broader efforts to strengthen press freedom

06/10/2022

Media freedom groups express dismay over the recent attempts by deputy Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovič to denigrate the country’s media

International Press Freedom Groups Condemn Turkey Disinformation Bill Placed before Parliament

06/10/2022

Twenty five international organisations call on Members of Parliament to vote against the bill on “disinformation and fake news”, a law designed to criminalise the free flow of information. Turkish translation available below

France: Investigative media outlets under attack in five gagging lawsuits

30/09/2022

Media freedom groups raise concern over the recent wave of gagging lawsuits initiated by companies against several independent media outlets in France

Democratic Values in the Digital Age Series: Strengthening Media Pluralism and Freedoms

28/09/2022

Media freedom and media pluralism are essential to our democracies and are enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. How can we safeguard media freedom and pluralism in the current digital environment? A conference organised by UCD Centre for Digital Policy

Albania: Media must not face criminal prosecution for public interest reporting

23/09/2022

Media freedom groups raise concern over the blanket publication ban issued by Albanian prosecutorial authorities regarding a trove of hacked data. No journalist or media outlet should face criminal sanctions for publishing information in the public interest

Call for Italian political forces to take a stand against SLAPPs, a ‘slap’ in the face of freedom of information

20/09/2022

The right of citizens to be informed about matters of public interest and of journalists to write freely about them cannot and must not be hindered by SLAPPs. Civil society's appeal to the future parliament to promote measures to contrast strategic lawsuits

Also available ITA

Joint Statement on the Proposal for the European Media Freedom Act

16/09/2022

We co-signed a statement welcoming the European Commission's commitment to protect journalists and editorial independence within the EU

Albania: Press freedom groups call for a fair trial in defamation lawsuit by former top prosecutor against Isa Myzyraj

13/09/2022

The defamation case filed against journalist Isa Myzyraj by a former Tirana's prosecutor raises our concerns. MFRR and media freedom organisations call for a fair trial in which the importance of free speech and public interest reporting is appropriately considered

Turkey: Twenty journalists including TGS leadership blacklisted by police

09/09/2022

The partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) expressed solidarity with the twenty journalists blacklisted by the Turkish General Directorate of Security (EGM) for their writing and joined the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) in denouncing an apparent attempt to intimidate independent journalists and trade unionists