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Russian fake news laws

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The Russian fake news laws are a group[1][2] of federal laws prohibiting the dissemination of information considered "unreliable" by Russian authorities, establishing the punishment for such dissemination, and allowing the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) to extrajudicially block access to online media publishing such information.[3] The most well known of these laws is the Federal Law of 4 March 2022 No.32-FZ enacted during the Russian invasion of Ukraine; the adoption of this law caused the mass exodus of foreign media from Russia and termination of the activity of independent Russian media.[4][5][6]

2019 Fake News Law

Main article: Russian 2019 Fake News Law

On 18 March 2019, Vladimir Putin signed the law No.31-FZ allowing the Roskomnadzor to block access to any online media in case of revealing an "unreliable information".[7] On the same day, Putin signed the law No.27-FZ establishing the administrative fines for natural persons and juridical persons for publication of "unreliable information".[8][9]

2019 Disrespect to Authorities Law

Main article: Russian 2019 Disrespect to Authorities Law

On 18 March 2019, Putin signed the law No.28-FZ that punishes "'blatant disrespect online for the state, the authorities, the public, the Russian flag or the constitution" by a fine or by imprisonment for up to 15 days in the case of repeat offences, and the law No.30-FZ also allows the Roskomnadzor to request the removal of such "disrespectful statements".[10][11][12]

2020 COVID-19 Fake News Law

Main article: Russian 2020 COVID-19 Fake News Law

On 1 April 2020, Putin signed the laws No.99-FZ and No.100-FZ establishing the administrative and criminal punishment for a dissemination of unreliable information about circumstances that threat to life and health of a citizen including epidemic, natural and technological disasters, emergency, and measures to ensure the security.[13][14][15] These laws were aimed at making illegal any doubts as to the nature of COVID-19 and the reasonableness of the measures to combat the epidemic.

2022 war censorship laws

Main article: Russian 2022 war censorship laws

On 4 March 2022, in the background of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin signed the laws No.31-FZ and No.32-FZ,[16][17] often referred to as the "fakes law" (Russian: закон о фейках).[18]

The bill amended the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which was supplemented by the article 207.3 "Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation." It introduced criminal liability for the dissemination of knowingly false information about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces, the maximum punishment under the article was 15 years imprisonment.[19][6]

The Chapter 29 of the Criminal Code of Russia was also supplemented by the articles 280.3 and 284.2. According to the article 280.3, the "discrediting" of Russian Armed Forces and its operations, including the calls for prevention of the use of Russian Armed Forces for the interests of the Russian Federation is punishable by imprisonment for a term of five years. The article 284.2 established responsibility for calls by a Russian citizen to impose sanctions against Russia, Russian citizens or Russian legal entities; such calls are punishable by imprisonment for a term of three years. The same actions were included into new articles 20.3.3 and 20.3.4 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses. The first call against the use of Russian Armed Forces or the call for sanctions on Russia is punishable with a heavy fine according to the Code on Administrative Offenses, the second call is punishable with imprisonment according to the Criminal Code.[20]

On 25 March 2022, Vladimir Putin signed the laws No.62-FZ and No.63-FZ, that amended Article 20.3.3 of the RF Code of Administrative Offenses and Article 280.3 of the RF Criminal Code.[21][22] These amendments made punishable "discrediting" of exercise of the powers, carrying out by not only Russian Armed Forces but any Russian state body (including National Guard, Federal Security Service, Ministry of Emergency Situations, General Prosecutor's Office, Investigative Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) outside Russian territory.[23]

Effect on media

Many Russian media outlets were forced to stop covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine because of this bill, including Colta.ru, Snob online magazine, Znak.com, The Bell online magazine, and Novaya Gazeta.[24][25][26] TV Rain said it was temporarily suspending operations due to the enactment of the aforementioned law.[27]

Radio Liberty announced that it would stop working in Russia due to the new law on fakes, but would continue to cover events in Ukraine while abroad.[28] The following foreign news agencies and TV stations—Bloomberg News, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, BBC News, RTVE, EFE, RAI, TG5 and ANSA—stopped working in Russia.[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] By 7 March 2022, according to Agentstvo, over 150 journalists left Russia after Putin signed the bill into law.[38]

On 7 April 2022, to avoid prosecutions under the law, journalists from Novaya Gazeta announced the launch of Novaya Gazeta Europe. Its editor-in-chief Kirill Martynov said that Novaya Gazeta Europe would be independent of Novaya Gazeta, "both legally and in practice", with its newsroom made up of staffers who have left Russia.[39]

In the months following the beginning of the war, virtually all remaining independent media in Russia were terminated by the Roskomnadzor for violation of the censorship laws: liberal radio station Echo of Moscow was closed on 3 March[40] and replaced by the propaganda outlet Radio Sputnik,[41] the TV Rain channel was closed in March,[42] online publications The New Times and The Moscow Times were blocked from the internet in Russia[43][44] and Novaya Gazeta was forced to suspend their publications and later shut down in September.[45][46]

Similar Belarusian law

On 14 December 2021, Alexander Lukashenko signed Law No.133-Z, amending Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Belarus. These amendments criminalized appeals for sanctions against Belarus and Belarusian legal and natural persons and established a penalty of imprisonment for up to six years for making such appeals.

Appeals to foreign countries and the dissemination of such appeals are punishable by a term of imprisonment from three to 10 years. The same appeals made via the media or the internet are punishable for a term of four to 12 years. This bill was adopted in Belarus against a background of the ongoing political crisis in the country.[47][48]

See also

References

  1. ^ Samorodova, Elina (2020). "Особенности современного регулирования фейковых новостей: российский и зарубежный опыт". Mediascope (in Russian) (3). Moscow. doi:10.30547/mediascope.3.2020.4. ISSN 2074-8051. S2CID 242888902. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Fake-news и пандемия: как законодательство борется с дезинформацией" (in Russian). Pravo.ru. 26 June 2020.
  3. ^ "SUBMISSIONS IN REPLY TO THE CALL FOR INPUTS ON CHALLENGES TO FREEDOM OF OPINION AND EXPRESSION IN TIMES OF CONFLICTS AND DISTURBANCES" (PDF). The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 11 July 2022.
  4. ^ Galayda, Ekaterina. "Срок за невнимательность: Чем опасен для СМИ новый закон о фейках". Национальная Служба Новостей - НСН (in Russian). Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Держдума ухвалила закон 'про фейки': в РФ саджатимуть за правду про війну". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Analysis | In Putin's Russia, 'fake news' now means real news". The Washington Post. 11 March 2022. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  7. ^ О внесении изменений в статью 153 Федерального закона "Об информации, информационных технологиях и о защите информации" (Federal Law 31-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 18 March 2019. "Законодательство России. Поиск: Федеральный закон Дата принятия 18.03.2019 Номер начинается". Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ О внесении изменений в Кодекс Российской Федерации об административных правонарушениях (Federal Law 27-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 18 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Владимир Путин подписал закон о фейковых новостях" (in Russian). Pravo.ru. 18 March 2019. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  10. ^ О внесении изменений в Кодекс Российской Федерации об административных правонарушениях (Federal Law 28-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 18 March 2019. "Законодательство России. Поиск: Федеральный закон Дата принятия 18.03.2019 Номер начинается". Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ О внесении изменения в Федеральный закон "Об информации, информационных технологиях и о защите информации" (Federal Law 30-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 18 March 2019. "Законодательство России. Поиск: Федеральный закон Дата принятия 18.03.2019 Номер начинается". Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ "Russia's Putin signs law banning fake news, insulting the state online". Thomson Reuters. 18 March 2019. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  13. ^ О внесении изменений в Кодекс Российской Федерации об административных правонарушениях (Federal Law 99-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 1 April 2020. "Законодательство России. Поиск: Федеральный закон Дата принятия 01.04.2020 Номер начинается". Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ О внесении изменений в Уголовный кодекс Российской Федерации и статьи 31 и 151 Уголовно-процессуального кодекса Российской Федерации (Federal Law 100-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 1 April 2020. "Законодательство России. Поиск: Федеральный закон Дата принятия 01.04.2020 Номер начинается". Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ "Путин утвердил штрафы за нарушение карантина и фейки о коронавирусе" (in Russian). RBK. 1 April 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  16. ^ О внесении изменений в Кодекс Российской Федерации об административных правонарушениях (Federal Law 31-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 4 March 2022. Archived 12 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine "Федеральный закон от 04.03.2022 № 31-ФЗ ∙ Официальное опубликование правовых актов ∙ Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации". Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  17. ^ О внесении изменений в Уголовный кодекс Российской Федерации и статьи 31 и 151 Уголовно-процессуального кодекса Российской Федерации (Federal Law 32-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 4 March 2022. Archived 9 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine "Федеральный закон от 04.03.2022 № 32-ФЗ ∙ Официальное опубликование правовых актов ∙ Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации". Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Госдума одобрила расширение закона о фейках" (in Russian). 22 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Russia's parliament approves jail for 'fake' war reports". Al Jazeera. 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Россиян будут наказывать за призывы к санкциям и антивоенные лозунги". Vedomosti (in Russian). 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  21. ^ О внесении изменений в статьи 8.32 и 20.3.3 Кодекса Российской Федерации об административных правонарушениях (Federal Law 62-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 25 March 2022.
  22. ^ О внесении изменений в Уголовный кодекс Российской Федерации и статьи 150 и 151 Уголовно-процессуального кодекса Российской Федерации (Federal Law 63-FZ) (in Russian). State Duma. 25 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Путин подписал закон о наказании за фейки о госорганах за рубежом". Radio Liberty (in Russian). 25 March 2022.
  24. ^ "Znak.com объявил о приостановке работы". Meduza (in Russian). 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  25. ^ ""Риски для журналистов перешли на новый уровень». The Bell не будет писать о военных действиях в Украине из-за нового закона о «фейках"". Meduza (in Russian). 5 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  26. ^ Kondratyev, Nikita (5 March 2022). "Служба информации "Новой газеты" останавливает работу. Мы вернемся. Скоро. Заявление". Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  27. ^ "Liberal Russian TV Dozhd Suspending Operations Over Ukraine Ban". The Moscow Times. 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  28. ^ "Бюро Радио Свобода в России прекращает свою работу". Radio Liberty (in Russian). 6 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  29. ^ Korolyeva, Natalia (5 March 2022). "CNN, BBC, CBS, ABC и Bloomberg прекращают работу в России". Deutsche Welle (in Russian). Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  30. ^ "Bloomberg to Temporarily Halt Work of Its Journalists in Russia". Bloomberg News. 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  31. ^ "CNN, BBC, and others suspend broadcasting from Russia after Putin signs law limiting press". CNN. 5 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  32. ^ "War in Ukraine: BBC suspends its journalists' work in Russia". BBC News. 5 March 2022. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  33. ^ "RTVE deja de informar temporalmente desde Rusia". RTVE (in Spanish). 5 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  34. ^ "La Agencia Efe suspende temporalmente su actividad informativa desde Rusia". EFE (in Spanish). 5 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  35. ^ "BBC suspendiert Berichterstattung aus Russland". Der Spiegel (in German). 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  36. ^ "Russie : de nombreux médias internationaux suspendent leur activité". Le Monde (in French). 5 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  37. ^ "La Rai sospende i servizi giornalistici dalla Russia. Stessa decisione per Tg5 e Ansa". la Repubblica (in Italian). 5 March 2022. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  38. ^ "Over 150 Journalists Flee Russia Amid Wartime Crackdown On Free Press – Reports". The Moscow Times. 7 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  39. ^ "Novaya Gazeta Launches European Edition in Bid to Dodge Kremlin Censorship". The Moscow Times. 7 April 2022.
  40. ^ Santora, Marc (2 March 2022). "What Happened on Day 7 of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  41. ^ Times, The Moscow (8 March 2022). "Russia to Broadcast State-Run Sputnik Radio on Banned Liberal Station's Frequency". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  42. ^ Tapp, Tom (3 March 2022). "TV Rain, Russia's Last Independent TV Channel, Airs Symbolic Protest On Final Broadcast". Deadline. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  43. ^ Times, The Moscow (28 February 2022). "Russia Blocks Number of Independent and Ukrainian Media Outlets". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  44. ^ Times, The Moscow (15 April 2022). "Moscow Times' Russian Service Blocked Over War Coverage". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  45. ^ "Russia's Novaya Gazeta paper suspends activity after second warning". Reuters. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  46. ^ Times, The Moscow (5 September 2022). "Russia Revokes Novaya Gazeta Newspaper Print License". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  47. ^ "Лукашенко ввел уголовную ответственность за призывы к санкциям против Минска". Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian). 14 December 2021. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  48. ^ "Лукашэнка ўвёў крымінальную адказнасць за заклікі да санкцыяў". Belsat TV (in Belarusian). 14 December 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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