Filenews 24 July 2024
In Cyprus, an amendment to the penal code is being promoted which makes it a criminal offence to spread false news and offensive reports, with prison sentences of up to five years.
The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) and the PSE denounce the criminalisation of fake news and the horrific impact this can have on press freedom.
A legislative amendment will be tabled at the plenary session of the Cypriot Parliament in September on the criminalisation of the dissemination of fake news, threats, insults and the dissemination of obscene photos and images on the Internet. The amendment provides for the conversion of a number of civil offences into criminal offences, as well as a prison sentence of up to five years.
On 3 July 2024, the Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice and Public Order of the Cypriot Parliament discussed a motion for an amendment on the dissemination of fake news, threats, insults and obscene images online. The Assistant Attorney General of Cyprus, Savvas Angelides, and the chairman of the parliamentary committee, Nikos Tornaritis (Democratic Rally), supported the amendment, while the PSE, the Committee on Journalistic Ethics (EDD) and the Cyprus Association of Newspaper and Magazine Publishers strongly opposed it.
