UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission comments on Ukraine's disinformation bill

UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission comments on Ukraine's disinformation bill

Ukrinform
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission says it is necessary to counter disinformation and fake news, but this cannot be done at the cost of restricting media freedom.

“We urge Ukraine’s government to avoid unnecessary restrictions on media. We share the concerns of the media community and civil society that the current draft law on disinformation is not in line with international human rights standards, may undermine media freedom and trigger self-censorship,” the Mission reports on Facebook.

An attempt to introduce criminal responsibility for disseminating disinformation puts journalists at risk of prosecution simply for doing their work. Furthermore, the government should refrain from establishing bodies in charge of monitoring or filtering content.

“While it is necessary to counter disinformation and fake news, this cannot be done at the cost of restricting media freedom. We encourage the Ministry of Culture that elaborated this first draft, to abide by international human rights standards, to continue public consultations and ensure they are inclusive and open,” the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission noted.

As Ukrinform reported, on January 20, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of Ukraine published a draft law on ensuring national information security and the right to access reliable information known as the "bill on disinformation."

ish

Sign up for our free newsletter skorik@ukrinform.com.


Let’s get started read our news at facebook messenger > > > Click here for subscribe

While citing and using any materials on the Internet, links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory. In addition, citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and to the website of a foreign media outlet. Citing and using materials in offline media, mobile apps, Smart TV are allowed only with written permission from Ukrinform. News and publications marked as "Advertisement" and "PR" and articles in the section "Releases" include promoted content, and an advertiser is responsible for the content.

© 2015-2023 Ukrinform. All rights reserved.

Website design Studio Laconica

Extended searchHide extended search
By period:
-