UN says new law against disinformation in Turkey leaves door open for ‘arbitrary abuse’

Oct. 14 () –

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has shown this Friday its concern about the law approved in Turkey against disinformation that contemplates penalties of up to three years in prison for the dissemination of “false news”, assuring that it leaves the door open to interpretation and possible “arbitrary abuse” and “subjective”.

“In an already very restrictive context, they risk further limiting people’s rights to seek, receive and impart information, as guaranteed by article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Turkey is part of it,” said a spokeswoman for the UN office, Marta Hurtado.

In this sense, he has pointed out that, according to International Law, freedom of expression is not limited to “true” information, but rather applies to “information and ideas of all kinds”, while at the same time he has stressed that “freedom of expression and access to information are necessary for the effective participation of people in public and political life and essential in any democracy”.

“We regret that these laws have been drafted and adopted without meaningful consultation with civil society and media representatives,” he said, adding that such broad “legal and regulatory frameworks” must have “wide public debate.” .

Finally, Hurtado has called on the Turkish authorities to guarantee “full respect for freedom of expression guaranteed by International Law”, an alert that has also been shared by the European Union, which has shown fear that this new law be used to limit freedoms.

Turkey’s parliament passed a disinformation law on Thursday that will punish spreading “fake news” with up to three years in prison. Article 29 of the law opens the way for journalists and social media users to be sentenced to up to three years in prison for “disseminating misleading information to the public.” In the event that the perpetrator commits this crime by concealing his true identity or within the framework of the activities of an organization, the penalty in question will increase.