Zelensky Signs New Anti-Press Law Allowing Him to Block News Websites

A new law signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could give Ukraine’s government powers to block media outlets.

Zelenskyy signed the law on Thursday after Ukraine’s parliament passed it earlier in December, The New York Times reported. Lawmakers have touted the bill as an effort to bring Ukraine’s media laws closer to European Union standards as the country makes a bid to join the 27-member bloc. They have also argued that it will help counter Russian propaganda as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its one-year anniversary.

But organizations representing journalists say the law will erode press freedoms in Ukraine. Under the law, Ukraine’s media regulator could block websites that are not registered with the government as news organizations, The Kyiv Independent reported on Friday.

The law is at odds with freedoms given to the press in other parts of Europe, the European Federation of Journalists said in a statement on Friday, according to the Times.

Ukrainian lawmakers have been considering a new law regulating the media since 2019, when Zelenskyy directed parliament to draft it. The version that Zelenskyy signed on Thursday is not as sweeping as a previous draft, which the Federation called “worthy of the worst authoritarian regimes.” (Read more from “Zelensky Signs New Anti-Press Law Allowing Him to Block News Websites” HERE)

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