3 They contend that “general prohibitions on the dissemination of information based on vague and ambiguous ideas, including ‘false news’ or ‘non-objective information,’ are incompatible with international standards for restrictions on freedom of expression. Special rapporteurs on freedom of expression have individually and collectively issued several declarations on how laws purporting to combat misinformation or false information run afoul of international human rights standards. Increased administrative burdens, which include measures like licensing regimes, data localization, transparency requirements, or mandated press or media councils Content controls and corrections, which require journalists and media organizations to remove content or post state-approved correctionsĤ. Imprisonment, which involves arresting and imprisoning journalists and editorsģ. Excessive monetary fines, which impose a range of financial penalties on journalists or media organizationsĢ. Our analysis of the 105 MDM laws identified four types of legal penalties embedded in these laws that could potentially hinder press freedom:ġ. 2 Although human rights activists and academics have focused on how MDM laws can limit freedom of expression, less attention has been paid to freedom of the press and the consequences of these laws for independent journalism around the world. Of those, 39-nearly 10 percent-were jailed on MDM charges. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, almost 400 reporters were imprisoned around the world in 2022. Indeed, many MDM laws have already been used to arrest citizens and journalists for publishing or sharing false information online. As such, they can have long-term consequences for freedom of the press and other human rights online. However, many of them criminalize the creation and distribution of “fake news.” Such laws often lack definitional specificity and can lead to greater overreaches of power. Some of these laws focus on improving platform transparency and increasing media literacy. Seventy-eight countries have passed laws designed to limit the spread of false or misleading information. Since 2011, MDM laws have been on the rise, with the greatest increase seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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