The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will be issuing a legal opinion over Cyprus’ contentious fake news bill which has sparked concerns amid the country’s journalistic community, it emerged on Friday.
Akel MP Irene Charalambides said she had been informed by the OSCE that it would be issuing a legal opinion on the bill.
It will be made public and the team will be ready to come to Cyprus to discuss it, Charalambides said, citing a letter from the OSCE.
The speedy response was prompted by concerns the bill will be put to vote as early as September, she specified.
Charalambides posted on X a day earlier that she written to the OSCE over the matter, calling the legal amendment “dangerous for democracy.”
Head of the House legal committee and Disy MP Nicos Tornaritis however gave a press conference earlier in the day where he said he was “shocked” by a series of damning statements made lately over the contentious bill.
Though the bill purports to offer a wing of protection for victims of online harassment, journalism groups both local and international have slammed it for a “chilling effect” on press freedom.
The legal amendment provides for the conversion of a series of civil offences into criminal offences, as well as a prison sentence of up to five years.
It has been in the works since 2021 and the journalists’ union has been fighting it ever since.
Tornaritis stressed the bill has been discussed 10 times and “has enough safeguards to protect freedom of speech.”
He argued “there is a serious legal gap” at present that creates double standards. If he swears at people on the street, he can be taken before the courts, he said.
But if he swears or threatens someone online or via text “there is no legal recourse to allow a citizen to defend themself.”
Head of the journalists’ union George Frangos however rubbished the claim. He stated there is currently a law on bullying, hate speech and tough libel laws in Cyprus that ensure peoples’ rights are protected.
“The targets of this bill are journalists. Clear and simple,” he told the Cyprus Mail.
He added the fact that someone could face criminal charges if the attorney general deems an article to be fake news and be subject to jail time up to five years, is a frightening concept for free press.
Already, Cyprus’ press freedom index dropped 10 points in 2024 according to Reporters Without Borders (RWB). The country currently ranks at 65th out of 180 countries, down from 55th place in 2023.
Tornaritis said he had proposed to the justice ministry and legal service to exclude journalists from the bill.
Asked to comment on the increasing criticism of the bill, he argued the bill has absolutely nothing to do with reporters.
Frangos said that with a looming prison sentence over a journalist’s head, this would put a death knell on investigative reporting on the island, which is already in dire straits.
Effectively, journalists will have to face a dilemma where they will either have to reveal their sources to spare themselves criminal proceedings, or face jail if they choose to protect their sources, he added.
