News

Hungary: a letter of concern to EU institutions

28/07/2020

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners are profoundly concerned about the latest media freedom attacks in Hungary, which follow only days after the EU Summit, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised the rule of law situation in his country

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Spain: a new law against fact-checking

28/07/2020

An analysis by Javier Luque, IPI Head of Digital Communications, for Media Freedom Rapid Response: polarization and attempts by far-right party to smear fact-checkers and journalists corner press freedom in the country

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Poland: new plans to limit foreign-owned media

27/07/2020

The governing Law and Justice (PiS) party announces the will to pass the new law before the end of its term in 2023. This is a new threat to media freedom coming from legislation within the EU, and the platform Mapping Media Freedom keeps track of it, too

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Bulgaria: death threats against journalist Nikolay Staykov require transparent investigation

23/07/2020

The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office ordered police protection for the investigative journalist. However, at the same time it is questioning Staykov as part of a separate investigation into the allegations made in his documentary. IPI expresses concern about the independence of the Prosecutor's Office in properly investigating the case, asking for the assignment of a special prosecutor

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SLAPP: a new engagement by the EU Commission DG Justice

21/07/2020

The Directorate-General Justice and Consumers of the EU Commission answers the letter sent by ECPMF and co-signed by OBCT and dozens of organisations: the committment to develop new rules to protect journalists and activists from strategic lawsuits is now a written promise. Here some text of the answer signed by Marie-Helene BOULANGER, Head of Unit

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SLAPP: an op-ed by Jessica Ní Mhainín on Euractiv

20/07/2020

The Senior Policy Research and Advocacy Officer at Index on Censorship gives an updated overview about strategic lawsuits against public participation and the present need to have an anti-SLAPP legislation at EU level

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Greece: a call for transparency and objectivity

15/07/2020

Several critical media outlets have been excluded from the governmental financial support provided through a €20 million public health advertising campaign during the COVID-19 crisis. The Media Freedom Rapid Response calls for transparency and objectivity in the distribution of public advertisement funds to media

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Slovenia: serious concerns over proposed changes to public service media

15/07/2020

A letter to the Prime Minister, to the Minister of Culture, to the President of the Republic and to the Speaker of the National Assembly urges Slovenian authorities to ensure that all voices and viewpoints are carefully considered during the consultation process of the proposed changes to the funding of public service media, a package of amendments to three media laws that has the potential to weaken the public broadcaster

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Serbia: no more attacks and threats to journalists covering protests

14/07/2020

Alarmed by the increasing violence that police uses against reporters and media workers, the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) ask Nebojša Stefanović, Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, to ensure all police officers and ministry personnel do not attack journalists, but protect them from other threats

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Statement in support of the mandate of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

13/07/2020

Twenty-nine organisations signed a statement in support of media freedom, after the decision of the Governments of Azerbaijan and Tajikistan to block the renewal of the mandate of Harlem Désir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

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