Special meeting over controversial fake news bill

A meeting is set to take place on Thursday over the contentious fake news bill with key stakeholders at the justice ministry.

Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis will be attending as will representatives from the legal service, bar association and journalism groups.

The bill has been condemned both locally and internationally by press freedom groups which have accused it as a guise to gag journalists.

It provides for up to five years in jail for the dissemination of fake news, which has been described as a “chilling effect” on media freedom that will inevitably push journalists to self-censor.

Under the proposed law, the attorney-general will have the power to determine what constitutes defamation, which will be reclassified from a civil offence to a criminal one.

This will be accompanied by up to five years in jail.

The International Press Institute warned the bill “exacerbates the potential for arbitrary enforcement, with the risk of those in power ending up repressing legitimate dissent and criticism”.

Deputy AG Savvas Angelides has ardently defended the bill, saying it is necessary to “draw the line between freedom of speech and recklessness”.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been alerted over the matter by Akel MP Irene Charalambides, and is expected to issue a legal opinion.

Cyprus’ journalism groups are pushing to have the bill scrapped in its entirety.