A guide to anti-misinformation actions around the world
By Daniel Funke and Daniela Flamini
BRUSSELS — In mid-March 2018, a European Commission high-level group published its final report on misinformation, drawing upon the input of experts from around the world who gathered over several weeks to help the European Union figure out what to do about misinformation.
The report created by the high-level group — announced in November 2017 to help the EU craft policies to address growing concern about misinformation in Europe — contains an inclusive, collaborative approach to addressing misinformation around the world (Disclosure: Poynter attended the meetings as one of the experts).
The report, while imperfect, explicitly recommends not regulating against misinformation — but the EU is only one of many governing bodies that have sought to stem the flow of online misinformation over the past few months.
Spanning from Brazil to South Korea, these efforts raise questions about infringing free speech guarantees and are frequently victims of uncertainty. The muddying of the definition of fake news, the relative reach of which is still being studied, hinders governments’ ability to accomplish anything effective.
In the spirit of this confusion, explained in detail in a Council of Europe report, Poynter has created a guide for existing attempts to legislate against what can broadly be referred to as online misinformation. While not every law contained here relates to misinformation specifically, they’ve all often been wrapped into that broader discussion. We have attempted to label different interventions as clearly as possible.
Since these efforts seem to be announced weekly, this article will be updated on an ongoing basis. If you catch an error or know of an update in one of our summaries, email dfunke@poynter.org or use the Google Form at the bottom of this page and we’ll update as soon as possible.
Australia | Bahrain | Bangladesh | Belarus | Belgium | Benin | Brazil | Burkina Faso | Cambodia | Cameroon | Canada | Chile | China | Côte d’Ivoire | Croatia | Democratic Republic of Congo | Denmark | Egypt | France | Germany | India | Indonesia | Ireland | Israel | Italy | Kazakhstan | Kenya | Malaysia | Mexico | Myanmar | The Netherlands | Nigeria | Oman | Pakistan | The Philippines | Russia | Rwanda| Saudi Arabia | Singapore | South Korea | Spain | Sri Lanka | Sweden | Taiwan | Tanzania | Thailand | Turkey | Uganda | United Arab Emirates | United Kingdom | United States | Vietnam
Australia
Action: Government task force and media literacy campaign
Focus: Foreign disinformation campaigns* and media literacy
In June 2018, four units of the government set up a task force to identify potential cyberattacks and foreign influence campaigns targeting upcoming Australian elections.
The Electoral Integrity Assurance Task Force is led by the Home Affairs Department and was created amid ongoing warnings from the intelligence community about foreign interference in Australia, the Special Broadcasting Service reported.
In February of 2019, an investigation by the ABC revealed that the Australian Electoral Commission notified Twitter and Facebook they must comply with notifications of illegal ads on their platform. (In Australia, political ads are required to make transparent the author and funder.) The AEC threatened the social media giants with court injunctions if they do not comply.
In April, they also launched a “Stop and Consider” campaign encouraging voters to pay attention to the sources of their information in light of the federal elections held in May.
*This effort does not directly target misinformation, as others have reported.
Bahrain
Action: Arrests
Focus: Media regulation
In May 2019, a lawyer was arrested in Bahrain for “publishing fake news that could harm the public order” on social media.
The Associated Press reported that prosecutors cited the lawyer’s past tweets, which questioned the government’s ability to protect the public, as the primary reason for his arrest. Freedom House has rated Bahrain’s press as “not free.”
Bangladesh
Focus: Propaganda and media regulation
In October 2018, the Bangladeshi government passed a bill that imprisons people for spreading “propaganda” about the 1971 war in which the country won independence from Pakistan. It also bans the posting of “aggressive and frightening” content.
The Economist reported that journalists were concerned. In August, a photographer was arrested for “spreading false information” after speaking in support of a student protest. He faces up to seven years in prison for spreading false news against the government under an act that has already been used to detain dozens of social media users over the past year, according to Freedom House.
In January, the Dhaka Tribune reported that 22 people had been arrested on cybercrime charges in the past two months. Of those, several were imprisoned for allegedly spreading on social media anti-state rumors and doctored photos of government leaders.
As Reuters reported in December, the Bangladesh government itself has been known to spread misinformation online. Facebook and Twitter removed fake accounts and pages linked to the state days ahead of an election.
Belarus
Action: Law
Focus: Misinformation
On June 14, 2018, lawmakers passed controversial amendments to Belarus’ media laws that allow the government to prosecute people who spread false information online.
One lawmaker said the legislation, which also allows for social media and other websites to be blocked if found in violation of the law, is aimed at bolstering citizens’ rights while also strengthening state information security.
On June 8, the Committee to Protect Journalists came out against the legislation, saying that it — in addition to separate legislation that aims to tighten Belarusian media regulations — could lead to more selective prosecution of journalists. According to Freedom House, the country already has no press freedom.
Belgium
Action: Expert group and media literacy campaign
Focus: Misinformation
In early May 2018, Belgian Minister for the Digital Agenda Alexander De Croo announced two initiatives aimed at curbing the spread of misinformation online.
First, the government established an expert group of journalists and scholars to come up with potential solutions by June 25, 2018. Second, it launched a website to inform people about misinformation and implement a Reddit style of upvoting and downvoting proposed solutions from the government. A public debate also took place in Brussels on May 17.
Benin
Action: Arrests
Focus: Media regulation
In April 2019, a journalist in Benin was arrested for allegedly spreading false information about the Beninese economy on social media.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Casimir Kpedjo, editor of the daily publication Nouvelle Economie, wasn’t technically charged with a crime but still had to appear before the authorities. The charges stemmed from two articles that Kpedjo wrote about the economy.
If convicted, he faces up to six months in prison or a fine of up to $1,692, CPJ reported. Freedom House has rated Benin’s press as “partly free.”
Brazil
Action: Government task force, 20 draft bills, platform agreements and government fact-checking
Focus: Election misinformation
The Federal Police’s announcement of a task force to “identify and punish the authors of ‘fake news’” first in the form of a tweeted statement Jan. 9, 2018.
Polícia Federal dará início nos próximos dias em Brasília às atividades de um grupo especial formado para combater notícias falsas durante o processo eleitoral. A medida tem o objetivo de identificar e punir autores de “fake news” contra ou a favor dos candidatos. pic.twitter.com/ZDSAt4p1BL
— FENAPEF (@FENAPEF) January 9, 2018
That move mainly targets fake news stories dealing with October’s presidential election and echoes French President Emmanuel Macron’s own effort to curtail electoral misinformation. Agência Pública has also collected, 20 draft bills in the Brazilian Congress as of May 11, 2018, aimed at criminalizing the distribution of misinformation online ahead of the election.
The penalties range from fines starting at R$1,500 ($400) to up to eight years of in prison for crimes ranging from spreading fake news stories on social media to publishing inaccurate press accounts.
Despite the intense interest, what legislation will actually look like is still unclear. Lawmakers disagree over who should be punished for the dissemination of misinformation — creators, sharers or content providers. The bills also vary in terms of which parts of the law they propose to alter.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian government has also entered into an agreement with Facebook and Google that pledges the platforms to “combat disinformation generated by third parties,” The Rio Times reported in late June 2018. However, the two-page document doesn’t include any new initiatives that the companies are starting specifically in Brazil. Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux signed a similar agreement with Brazilian political parties earlier that month.
In October, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) launched its own “multimedia fact-checking page” that lists fact-checks, or “clarifications,” of information that was circulated ahead of the 2018 elections.
Burkina Faso
Action: Law
Focus: Misinformation
In June 2019, Burkina Faso’s parliament adopted a law that seeks to punish the publication of “fake news” information compromising security operations, false information about rights abuses or destruction of property, or images and audio from a ‘terrorist’ attack.”
Offenders could face fines up to £7,000 or up to 10 years in jail, but the law is still awaiting presidential approval.
Rights groups and media watchdogs criticized the law, saying it was an attempt at censoring journalists’ work and reporting on national security issues.
Cambodia
Action: Law and state broadcasts
Focus: Misinformation
Cambodia expanded its crackdown on misinformation in the weeks leading up to the country’s late July 2018 election.
In May, the government passed a measure that gave it the authority to block media that it thinks threatens national security. The new expansion of the law means people could be jailed for two years and fined $1,000 for publishing fake news. The Guardian reported that three ministries have been assigned to monitor social media posts for potential violations.
It’s still unclear how the government is defining fake news. Deutsche Welle reported that one spokesperson for the ruling party said the law would apply “to some media in which they use the wrong information.”
In January 2019, The Cambodia Daily reported that the government was launching a live TV program during which it will address misinformation.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has also begun using the term “fake news” in recent years to discredit dissent or opposition. In June 2019, Reuters reported that a translator had been sentenced for jail for two years for his role in creating a documentary about sex trafficking the government said contained “fake news.”
Other governments and organizations condemned the sentence, and a representative from Human Rights Watch suggested it was a move to cover up issues of poverty and sex work the country faces.
Cameroon
Action: Arrests
Focus: Media regulation
In the global crackdown on misinformation, Cameroon has emerged as a key detainer of journalists.
According to CPJ’s annual census of imprisoned journalists, the country jailed four journalists for false news in 2018 — the second most in the world, after Egypt. The Washington Post reported in December that journalists covering violence between separatists and the government were primary targets. Poynter profiled a couple of the journalists imprisoned and released on false news charges in January.
Under Cameroonian law, it’s illegal to report “any news without being able to prove either its truth or that he had good reason to believe it to be true,” The Post reported.
In October of 2018, the Cameroonian government met with two Facebook officials in Yaoundé for a two-hour meeting to discuss the spread of misinformation and cybercrimes on the platform.
Canada
Action: Media literacy campaign, government task force
Focus: Media literacy, foreign disinformation campaigns
In January 2019, the Canadian government announced a multi-pronged effort to combat misinformation ahead of elections in the fall.
First, CTV reported that the government created a “Critical Election Incident Public Protocol” that will monitor and notify other agencies and the public about disinformation attempts. That task force will be led by five non-political officials and is an addition to a “rapid response mechanism” housed within the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Second, the government called on social media platforms to do more to combat disinformation ahead of the election. The move comes in tandem with Bill C-76, legislation that aims to compel tech companies to be more transparent about their anti-disinformation and advertising policies.
Third, Canada announced it was giving $7 million to projects aimed at increasing public awareness of misinformation online.
Then in May, the country announced the launch of its digital charter, which states “The Government of Canada will defend freedom of expression and protect against online threats and disinformation designed to undermine the integrity of elections and democratic institutions.” Sixteen government entities and eight entities signed the charter.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was designed to target fake news and hate speech and to hold social media platforms accountable to their role in allowing disinformation to spread.
Trudeau also implied that there would be “meaningful penalties” for tech companies that don’t comply, but the charter does not outline how fines would work, nor does it quality a definition for “fake news.”
Chile
Action: Bill
Focus: Misinformation
In February 2019, the Chilean Senate introduced a bill that would punish politicians nationwide for “the dissemination, promotion or financing of false news.” The specifics of the bill, which still has to be analyzed by the Constitution, Legislation, Justice and Regulation Commission, are still unclear.
China
Action: Laws and online reporting portal
Focus: Misinformation
China has some of the strictest laws in the world when it comes to misinformation.
In 2016, the government criminalized creating or spreading rumors that “undermine economic and social order,” Foreign Policy reported. Another law in 2017 requires social media platforms to solely republish and link to news articles from registered news media. This year, authorities went one step further and started requiring microblogging sites to highlight and refute rumors on their platforms.
In late August 2018, Chinese authorities launched an app that lets people report potential fakery. Reuters reported that the app, which also leverages artificial intelligence to automatically detect rumors, has accounts on platforms like Weibo and WeChat, on which it broadcasts reports from state-owned media.
Côte d’Ivoire
Action: Arrests
Focus: Media regulation
Côte d’Ivoire minister Alain Lobognan was imprisoned on “false news” charges after tweeting about how a state prosecutor had arrested another MP.
The arrest was made under the country’s anti-false news law, which it has used to jail journalists. But Lobognan said he was arrested for political reasons — not spreading false information. Freedom House classified Côte d’Ivoire media as “partly free” in its annual census.
Côte d’Ivoire is just the latest sub-Saharan African country to imprison someone on false news charges for a tweet, albeit among the few that have imprisoned politicians.
Croatia
Action: Bills
Focus: Hate speech*
Borrowing from similar efforts in Germany, the Croatian government announced in January 2018 that it’s working on a law to halt the spread of hate speech and misinformation on social media platforms.
The bill, which primarily takes aim at Facebook, endeavors to primarily educate citizens as opposed to sanctioning the spread of misinformation. While fact-checkers aren’t too sure about the specifics, experts say hate speech seems like a more natural area of regulation for lawmakers in Europe.
The draft bill is the product of a working group from the Central State Office for Digital Society, which concluded that hate speech, public incitement to violence and the spread of fake news should all be addressed in one law (only the first two are covered by the criminal code). The legislation was scheduled to be released by June 2018.
*This law does not have enforceable mechanisms to combat misinformation, as others have reported.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Action: Government WhatsApp account
Focus: Misinformation
Amid an ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo, the government created a WhatsApp tip line to field misinformation about the disease.
Science magazine reported in January that the government had recruited young people to report potentially false information on the app, whose encryption makes it impossible to monitor content as it’s shared. Then, “communications experts rebut them with accurate information via WhatsApp or local radio.”
Denmark
Action: Task force, media literacy campaign and government action plan*
Focus: Misinformation and media literacy
Taking a page from Sweden’s playbook in the fight against misinformation, the Danish government has set up a task force for addressing misinformation.
The group, which formed in September 2017, is responsible for developing responses to widespread misinformation campaigns and foreign disinformation attacks. A task force within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also set up to discover new pieces of misinformation online, TjekDet.dk reported.
Danish authorities bolstered their efforts to get ahead of misinformation problems by repurposing some media literacy material from Sweden. The government is distributing brochures with tips on how to avoid falling for misinformation.
Finally, the Danish government came up with a plan to avoid foreign interference in the May 2019 parliamentary elections. Among the action items include strengthening the Police Intelligence Service and the Defense Intelligence Service, as well as closer dialogue with the media companies and political parties.
*This does not directly address misinformation, as others have reported.
Egypt
Focus: Media regulation
The Egyptian government is now regulating social media accounts with large followings in an alleged attempt to cut down on misinformation.
Under the law, which passed in mid-July 2018, any account or blog with more than 5,000 followers on sites like Facebook and Twitter will be treated like a media outlet, which — under the country’s existing laws — can be prosecuted for publishing “fake news.” The Supreme Council for the Administration of the Media will oversee the legislation’s enforcement.
In addition to punishing those who publish false information, the law requires websites to obtain a license from the Supreme Council or face suspension, fines or getting blocked altogether. The legislation, which doesn’t define fake news, was approved after consultation with journalists and other experts, Reuters reported.
While supporters of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi say the new law safeguards freedom of expression, detractors point to Egypt’s penchant for jailing journalists on “fake news” charges as an indicator that it’s just a media censorship tactic. The country has no press freedom, according to Freedom House.
In September, the government began arresting people on “fake news” charges. One human rights activist was sentenced to two years in prison after posting a video criticizing the government over the level of sexual harassment in the country, the BBC reported. In October, an author was arrested on similar charges for his book challenging Egypt’s economic policies. Even the son of jailed former president Mohamed Morsi has been detained under the fake news law.
In December, CPJ found in its annual census of imprisoned journalists that Egypt leads the world in detaining journalists on “false news” charges with 19. CPJ called the arrests “fresh waves of repression,” and journalists there told Poynter they’re afraid to do their jobs for fear of arrest.
In March 2019, The Associated Press reported that the Egyptian government had tightened its regulations on the media. “(The) Supreme Media Regulatory Council can now block websites and some social media accounts with more than 5,000 followers for ‘fake news’ and can levy harsh fines up to up to 250,000 Egyptian pounds ($14,400) without having to get a court order,” it wrote. News outlets that don’t adhere to the regulations can be fined up to $298,000.
France
Action: Law
Focus: Election misinformation
In early January 2018, President Macron told journalists that he would be presenting a new law to fight the spread of misinformation during elections.
The law, which passed in November, provides a definition of “fake news”: “Inexact allegations or imputations, or news that falsely report facts, with the aim of changing the sincerity of a vote.” It’s designed to enact strict rules on the media during electoral campaigns and, more specifically, in the three months preceding any vote.
The legislation gives authorities the power to remove fake content spread via social media and even block the sites that publish it, as well as enforce more financial transparency for sponsored content, in the three months before election periods. That builds upon an 1881 law that outlaws the dissemination of “false news.”
The law contains three major provisions. First, a judge is authorized to act “proportionally” but “with any means” to halt the dissemination of misinformation before elections. For the judge to act, a specific request must be filed by political groups, public authorities or individuals. The judge “acts within a delay of 48 hours from the notification.”
Second, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will be required to publish who has purchased sponsored content or campaign ads and for what price. That component takes a page from the United States’ Honest Ads legislation, which applies existing standards for TV and radio stations to social media.
And finally, the law grants the Higher Audiovisual Council (CSA), the broadcasting regulator, new administrative and executive powers to ensure that platforms abide by the law. It will “publish a regular report” regarding the effectiveness of measures enacted by platforms. Additionally, the CSA can now “unilaterally” revoke the broadcast rights of TV and radio outlets operating on French territory who are found to work “under the control or influence of a foreign state” and “disseminate misinformation.”
After the French Constitutional Council published its opinion on the law May 4, 2018, the Cultural Affairs Committee of Parliament debated and amended the text to target the “manipulation of information” instead of “fake news.” The change reportedly protected satire from penalization under the regulation.
French lawmakers debated the proposed law on June 7, and it passed in early July. During election periods, the legislation will allow candidates to sue for the removal of contested news stories, Politico reported, and tech platforms will have to disclose the funding sources for sponsored content.
But it’s been met with pushback. More than 50 senators from the French Republican Party (LR) and the Centrist Union group appealed to the Constitutional court over the law, which is among the first of its kind in Europe. The lawmakers of the opposition parties argued that the law falls short of the principle of proportional justice, 20minutes reported.
In December, the law was validated by the Constitutional Council and enacted three days later.
And since then, it’s had some interesting results. In April 2019, The Independent reported that Twitter had banned a government-sponsored voting campaign since it seemed to violate the French law’s advertising transparency standards.
Germany
Action: Law
Focus: Hate speech*
Having gone into effect Jan. 1, 2018, Germany’s law against hate speech on Facebook is perhaps the most realized — but often misunderstood — effort to quell potentially harmful content online.
The law, titled “Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz” (NetzDG), forces online platforms to remove “obviously illegal” posts within 24 hours or risk fines of up to €50 million. Aimed at social networks with more than 2 million members — such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter — the law was passed in June 2017 and gave platforms until the end of the year to prepare for the regulation.
The law’s implementation points to the Bundestag’s willingness to move against questionable online content, but its enforcement has been rocky. A satirical magazine called Titanic published a piece with insults and was banned from Twitter, and even the minister of justice — who helped author the NetzDG — had his tweets censored.
In early March 2018, officials considered revising the law following criticism that too much content was being blocked. Among those revisions includes allowing users to get incorrectly deleted content restored, as well as pushing social media companies to set up independent bodies to review questionable posts.
*This law does not have enforceable mechanisms to combat misinformation, as others have reported.
India
Action: Database, proposed state law, proposed law amendment and internet shutdowns
Focus: Misinformation
A state government in India is considering creating legislation aimed at punishing purveyors of online misinformation — specifically doctored photographs.
The Economic Times reported in mid-June 2018 that West Bengal officials want to clarify how the state could additionally prosecute the publication of misinformation. Currently, citizens can be jailed in the state for posting misinformation if it causes fear or alarm in the public.
In addition to bolstering existing law, West Bengal has been preparing a database of fake news stories distributed on social media over the past few years. It has also kept records of past offenders, The Times reported.
The efforts come amid rising tensions related to misinformation in India. Rumors on messaging platforms like WhatsApp have allegedly incited violence across the country and the national government itself has tried to issue anti-fake news guidelines in the past.
In October, Wired reported that the Indian government had turned off the internet more than 100 times over the past year to quell the spread of rumors on WhatsApp. In 2018, the international nonprofit Access Now documented 134 internet shutdowns in India, and a study done at Stanford found that 47% of these took place in the politically tumultuous northern state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Shutdowns vary from total internet blackouts to slowing down mobile internet speed, and they’re often ordered by local governments in an attempt to stop the spread of false rumors on WhatsApp and quell public unrest.
The shutdowns have cost the country billions of dollars and are more frequent than in any other country, according to Freedom House. Some research also suggests that these are ineffective, and that misinformation, political turbulence and rioting still occur during shutdowns.
In December, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released draft changes to the 2000 IT Act that would require social media platforms to start tracing the originators of messages when compelled by the government. The effort is aimed at curbing the spread of unlawful content and misinformation on platforms like WhatsApp.
Indonesia
Action: Government task forces, arrests and site tracking
Focus: Misinformation
In January 2018, President Joko Widodo appointed a head of the newly formed National Cyber and Encryption Agency to help intelligence agencies and law enforcement efforts combat online misinformation and hoaxes before nationwide regional polls that summer.
Reuters reported that the agency was hiring hundreds of people to “provide protection” to institutions online. While it’s still unclear what authority the body has, other agencies have arrested alleged perpetrators of online misinformation. The government has also been blocking websites that publish content deemed to be harmful for society.
The Jakarta Post reported that social media companies are also working with the government to block and remove fake content, as well as illegal media such as pornography. In late January, the government also deployed a tool that allegedly automatically tracks and reports sites publishing fake news stories.
In October, Bloomberg reported that the Indonesian government has a team of 70 engineers monitoring social media traffic 24 hours a day in an effort to detect online misinformation. The so-called “war room,” which is housed within the Ministry of Communications, is aimed at curbing the spread of falsities ahead of an election in April and has the authority to remove posts that spread false news under a 2008 law.
The government has taken other substantial actions against misinformation. Per Bloomberg, the government has also created a website where people can report potentially false news and figure out if it’s true or not. In September, the communications ministry announced that it would hold weekly briefings to debunk misinformation. And in April, officials threatened to shut down Facebook if it failed to crack down on misinformation ahead of the election.
In November, Voice of America reported that Indonesia’s National Police had arrested more than a dozen people who spread false information on social media. The minimum sentence under the law is four years.
In May of 2019, the Indonesian government blocked access to certain social media features for almost a week following violent riots that broke out following the election of President Joko Widodo. The measure was taken in an effort to curb the spread of hoaxes and calls for violence that had spiked on social media networks. It prevented users on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp from being able to upload photos or videos to the platforms.
In June 2019, a member of the Muslim Cyber Army was arrested in Java and charged with spreading fake news and hate speech. The head of the Indonesian National Police’s Detective and General Crimes cybercrime division said the man had been responsible for spreading the unfounded fear that the Indonesian government was being controlled by China.
Ireland
Action: Bill
Focus: Political bots and advertising*
Lawmakers introduced a bill in early December 2017 that would make using a bot to create multiple fake accounts posing as different people spreading political messages a criminal offense.
According to the bill, using a bot to create 25 or more personas on social media would be punishable by up to five years in prison or fines of up to €10,000. The legislation also takes a page from the Honest Ads bill proposed in the U.S. Congress, eliciting widespread coverage as a law condemning all misinformation — an error in nuance that even Poynter made.
The ruling party, which opposes the bill, lost a vote in parliament in mid-December 2017 and it has moved on to the committee stage, where it’s unlikely to progress further.
*This law does not deal directly with misinformation, as others have reported.
Israel
Action: Court ruling
Focus: Foreign disinformation campaigns and propaganda
The Israeli government banned the publication of anonymous internet advertising on any platform ahead of the April 9, 2019, election.
The ruling, which came from Supreme Court Justice Hanan Melcer, went into effect March 1. The Times of Israel reported that it banned anonymous ads created both in Israel and abroad, and it compelled the identification of fake accounts used for propaganda, bots, WhatsApp messages and surveys distributed on other messaging platforms.
Italy
Action: Online reporting portal, arrest and authority report
Focus: Misinformation and fake reviews
A little more than a month before the general election, the Italian government announced Jan. 18, 2018, that it had set up an online portal where citizens could report misinformation to the police.
The service, which prompts users for their email addresses, a link to the fake news story or fabricated media and any social media networks they saw it on, ferries reports to the Polizia Postale, a unit of the state police that investigates cybercrime. The department will fact-check them and — if laws were broken — pursue legal action. At the very least, the service will draw upon official sources to deny false or misleading information.
That plan came amid a national frenzy over misinformation leading into the March 4 election and suffered from the same vagueness as the ones in Brazil, Croatia and France: a lacking definition of what constitutes “fake news.”
In a landmark ruling in September, a man was sentenced to prison for nine months for selling fake TripAdvisor reviews to restaurants and hotels, The Washington Post reported. The court decided that creating a false identity to write fraudulent reviews violated Italian law.
In late November, AGCOM, the country’s communications authority released a report on misinformation.
Kazakhstan
Action: Criminal investigation
Focus: Media regulation
In March 2018, the Kazakh government opened a criminal investigation into two news outlets for allegedly publishing false information.
According to Freedom House, Ratel and Forbes.kz faced criminal charges for spreading false information after the outlets published stories accusing a former top government official of corruption. After the former official filed a formal complaint, police interrogated journalists, executed search warrants and blocked Ratel’s website.
Under Kazakh law, “disseminating knowingly false information” carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, Human Rights Watch reported. The country scored “not free” in terms of press freedom, according to Freedom House.
Kenya
Action: Law
Focus: Misinformation
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta signed a bill May 16, 2018, criminalizing 17 different types of cybercrimes, including cyberbullying, espionage and computer forgery. And misinformation made the cut.
Under the law, people who knowingly share false or misleading information in an attempt to make it look real can be fined up to 5,000,000 shilling (nearly $50,000) or imprisoned for up to two years. Before Kenyatta signed the bill, there were calls for Parliament to review it to make sure it didn’t violate free speech provisions.
On May 10, the Committee to Protect Journalists came out against this law, saying that it would “criminalize free speech, with journalists and bloggers likely to be among the first victims.”
Malaysia
Action: Law
Focus: Misinformation
Malaysia made it a crime in early April 2018 to share misinformation, becoming the first Southeast Asian country to do so.
Lawmakers in one house of parliament voted to repeal the legislation in mid-August after voters booted out the governing party. The Guardian reported that a senior official said the police would instead be given new powers to deal with the “phenomenon” of misinformation. But the new opposition to the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad blocked the repeal in the upper house of parliament in mid-September.
Malaysia’s new prime minister indicated in mid-May 2018 that he intended for the law to stay, albeit with a clearer definition of fake news. However, on May 22, the country’s new communications and multimedia minister said the law would be repealed, and in late June, the new government was seeking to repeal the law by the summer.
The law makes publishing or sharing fake news punishable by up to six years in jail and a fine of 500,000 ringgit ($128,000). It also makes online service providers more responsible for third-party content, affects foreign news outlets reporting on Malaysia and anyone can lodge a complaint against an alleged purveyor of misinformation. Representatives from social media companies like Facebook and Google met with lawmakers in Kuala Lumpur in mid-March to get their views on the law.
The previous government opposition argued the definition of what constitutes fake news — “any news, information, data and reports which are wholly or partly false, whether in the form of features, visuals or audio recordings or in any other form capable of suggesting words or ideas” — was too vague and that the law is an effort to stifle free speech ahead of the August election.
In late April 2018, the first person arrested under the law was a Danish citizen for “inaccurate criticism of police on social media,” Reuters reported. He posted a YouTube video accusing Malaysian officials of taking 50 minutes to respond to a shooting on April 21, which police said actually took eight minutes.
Mexico
Action: Government fact-checking site
Focus: Misinformation
In June 2019, the newswire service Notimex, which is run by the staff of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, launched its own fact-checking unit named “Verificado Notimex.”
Poynter reported on how the name was identical to that of previously launched fact-checking projects in the country, including the initiative “VerificadoMX” and the coalition “Verificado.” Journalists and fact-checkers from these projects accused the government of plagiarizing their brand.
Verificado Notimex claimed it would debunk false news on social media and fact-check questionable content published by traditional media outlets.
Myanmar
Action: Law and arrests
Focus: Misinformation
In mid-October 2018, three journalists were jailed in Myanmar after publishing a story about the Yangon regional government, which claimed the article was false.
AP reported that the story, which was published by Eleven Media Group, alleged that the government misused public money. Officials argued that the editor-in-chief, managing editor and reporter of the news outlet violated a law that prohibits the publication of “incorrect information” that causes “fear or alarm to the public.”
The journalists could face up to two years in prison and a fine.
The Netherlands
Action: Public awareness campaign
Focus: Media literacy
In February 2019, the Dutch government launched a public awareness campaign aimed at informing people about the spread of misinformation online. The campaign, which came months ahead of the EU Parliamentary elections, was predominantly waged on social media.
Nigeria
Action: Media literacy campaign and state radio broadcasts
Focus: Media literacy and misinformation
In response to growing concerns and tensions related to misinformation, Nigeria has launched a campaign aimed at making people more critical news consumers.
The Premium Times reported the information minister, Lai Mohammed, is planning collaborations with digital and print media, as well as the National Orientation Agency, to teach Nigerians how to tell what’s real and fake online. Mohammed said the government wouldn’t resort to “coercion or censorship.”
In November 2018, the BBC reported that the army had started debunking Facebook misinformation on a live radio broadcast. It has also set up hotlines for citizens to report misinformation, and some police officers are using their personal Facebook pages to debunk it.
Oman
Action: Government training
Focus: Misinformation
In July 2019, the Times of Oman reported that government and security agencies in Oman had elevated efforts to monitor fake news online.
According to the paper, the Centre for Government Communications (CGC) held workshops with various government departments on best practices for dealing with rumors and false claims. It’s also preparing a guide for government institutions on how to tackle misinformation.
A spokesperson from the CGC said the measure aims to improve the rigor of official sources for information online.
The Omani penal code does not explicitly regulate fake news, but it does punish those who knowingly spread “false news of a crime that has not been committed” or rumors that “affect the state.”
Pakistan
Action: Government Twitter account
Focus: Misinformation
In early October 2018, the Pakistani government started going after misinformation on a platform where it regularly appears: Twitter.
Dawn reported that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting launched an account called Fake News Buster in an attempt to debunk “fake and negative propaganda” online. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told the news outlet that the government would additionally take action against those that spread misinformation.
The Philippines
Action: Dismissed bill
Focus: Misinformation
In February 2018, the chair of the Senate’s Committee on Public Information and Mass Media filed a bill that would hold government officials accountable for spreading false information.
The bill seeks to impose penalties of up to 2 million pesos or even imprisonment on those found guilty of spreading false information online and on social media. It would also allow the Department of Justice to order “fake news” to be taken down.
However, the measure was challenged as unconstitutional, and President Rodrigo Duterte has said in the past that such a law would never pass. Duterte has used the term “fake news” as an epithet for media outlets he dislikes, and even has been accused of spreading misinformation himself.
In July 2019, the Presidential Communications Operations Office announced that the proposed “anti-fake news” measure would need to be reviewed further to avoid violating the constitution.
In the meantime, the bill has been incorporated into the Philippine’s penal code, where any person found sharing false news that “engange(s) the public order or cause(s) damage to the interest or credit of the State” can be subject to a fine between 40,000 and 200,000 pesos.
Russia
Action: Bill, joint cybersecurity group and database
Focus: Misinformation and election misinformation
In the midst of heated discussions about the role of the Russian government in propagating misinformation around the world, the country’s lawmakers have passed their own anti-misinformation bill.
The bill bans the spread of “unreliable socially-important information” that could “endanger lives and public health, raise the threat of massive violation of public security and order or impede functioning of transport and social infrastructure, energy and communication facilities and banks,” USA Today reported.
The legislation exempts mainstream news organizations like newspapers and TV stations. However, online news outlets that are found to be in violation would be charged up to $5,000 in fines and 15 days in jail for repeat offenders.
The New York Times reported in July 2018 that the legislation, which lawmakers from the ruling United Russia party submitted in mid-July, would also hold social networks accountable for inaccurate comments that users post. Websites that have a commenting feature and amass more than 100,000 visitors every day will be required to remove false comments within 24 hours or be fined up to 50 million rubles (about $800,000).
The legislation has passed the State Duma and is now in the upper house Federation Council, Moscow News reported. If passed, the bill will go to President Vladimir Putin for his signature.
Social media platforms say they can’t possibly weed out every false comment on a daily basis, and critics say the law gives Russia — which Freedom House says has no press freedom — more censorship capabilities.
In December 2018, the Russian Duma introduced an additional package of bills that would wage fines of up to 1 million rubles ($15,000) for sharing false information online. Specifically, the legislation would ban “untruthful socially significant information disguised as authentic reports, which poses a threat to people’s lives and health and is fraught with mass violations of public order and security, disruption in the operation of crucial life support facilities, transport, and social infrastructures or other grave consequences.”
In November 2018, Russia signed a pact with Spain to create a joint cybersecurity group aimed at preventing misinformation from affecting diplomatic relations between the two. The move came after Spanish ministers accused Russia of spreading misinformation about the Catalan referendum.
In May 2019, The Moscow Times reported that Russia’s media regulator was planning to launch a database of news sources that the government has flagged as “fake.” If such sites don’t delete offending content, they could be legally blocked. The same regulator has also ordered sites to delete content that shows “blatant disrespect” toward the authorities.
Rwanda
Action: Arrests and policy proposals
Focus: Media regulation and misinformation
In March 2018, the Rwandan government sentenced a blogger to 10 years in prison for spreading rumors and inciting civil disobedience after questioning the state’s narrative on the 1994 genocide there, according to Freedom House.
In its annual census of imprisoned journalists around the world, CPJ found that the country jailed the third most journalists on false news charges in 2018, with three.
In May 2019, The East African reported that Rwandan authorities were mulling over regulations that would prohibit the spread of misinformation on social media. If passed, such legislation would likely be an addendum to existing Information and Communications Technology Ministry regulations about harmful online content.
Saudi Arabia
Action: Government threats
Focus: Misinformation
After the reported murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018, Saudi authorities started threatening people who post “fake news” online with up to five years in prison and heavy fines.
Gizmodo reported that officials cited Article 6 of Saudi Arabia’s cybercrimes regulations, which makes it a crime to breach “public order, religious values, public morals and privacy.”
Singapore
Action: Law, parliamentary report and media literacy campaign
Focus: Misinformation and media literacy
In May 2019, Singapore became the latest country to pass a law criminalizing the dissemination of false information online.
The law, which passed 72-9 in Singapore’s parliament, makes it illegal to spread “false statements of fact” in Singapore that compromise security, “public tranquility,” public safety and the country’s relations with other nations, Techcrunch reported. The law punishes people who post false information with heavy fines and even jail time.
If a “malicious actor” shares false information, the penalty is a fine of up to $37,000 or five years in prison. The punishment jumps to $74,000 and a potential 10-year jail term if the falsehood was shared using “an inauthentic online account or a bot.” And platforms like Facebook face fines of up to $740,000 and jail sentences of up to 10 years for their roles in spreading misinformation.
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, which has been criticized by numerous human rights groups and publications for unduly limiting free speech, lets the government demand the publication of corrections alongside allegedly false claims “against the public interest.” The law also outlaws the spread of misinformation on private messaging apps and gives the government broad power to remove false content that undermines public trust.
The measure is among the most comprehensive anti-misinformation laws in the world. And it has been in the works for more than a year.
In January 2018, Parliament voted to create a committee focused on addressing how best to address the problem of misinformation online. Idea submissions from journalists, advocacy groups and others were made public in February.
In March 2018, the government held an eight-day hearing on “deliberate online falsehoods.” It is now working to create a report and potential legislation on the issue — but it’s reportedly in no rush to do so.
In a 300-page parliamentary report published in late September, the government laid out 22 recommendations for combating the spread of misinformation online. Key among those is a call for legislation that will halt the spread of misinformation “in a matter of hours,” Bloomberg reported.
The report also posited that people who deliberately publish false information online should be prosecuted and that the government should work to disrupt advertising for fake news publishers — steps the committee said were necessary since tech companies alone can’t halt the spread of misinformation. Facebook and Google pushed back against potential legislation in Singapore, which Freedom House says has no press freedom, during March hearing.
Finally, the committee recommended the creation of a coalition of fact-checking organizations, news outlets and “industry partners” to debunk falsehoods online,The Strait Times reported. It’s still unclear to what extent the government would play a role in it, but the report suggests that the government could provide some sort of assistance.
In December, Channel NewsAsia reported that draft legislation could be tabled by the first half of 2019.
In January 2019, the government announced two new resources for religious groups to combat misinformation, the Straits Times reported. The first is a seminar to help them understand misinformation more in-depth and the second is a “security advisory booklet” that includes tactics on how to respond to online falsehoods and similar threats.
Then, Singapore’s government pivoted to legislation.
On April 1, 2019, lawmakers first read a bill that would give them new powers to crack down on the spread of misinformation on platforms like Facebook, which could be fined if they don’t comply with specific censorship provisions. That bill passed within the month.
South Korea
Action: Government task force and proposed law amendments
Focus: Misinformation
The National Assembly has more than a dozen pending law amendments aimed at curbing the effect of misinformation online — about half of which call on platforms to self-regulate false content. One would criminalize the use of bots to manipulate online commenting.
At the same time, the ruling party has used a misinformation countermeasure task force to file about 500 complaints against people allegedly publishing problematic content.
In October 2018, the government took additional action against misinformation, with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon ordering police to punish those who “generate fake news with malicious intent and systemically spread it,” The New York Times reported. He also told a government regulatory agency to take action against websites that harbor fake news and advocated for a new law regulating its spread.
Spain
Action: Committee recommendation, joint cybersecurity group and government fact-checking
Focus: Misinformation and election misinformation
In early March 2018, the National Security Commission of the Congress of Deputies passed a proposal asking the government to take action against misinformation online.
In the non-binding recommendation, the committee requested that the government cooperate with the EU in developing strategies against misinformation. The proposal was voted down by the left-wing coalition.
In November 2018, Russia signed a pact with Spain to create a joint cybersecurity group aimed at preventing misinformation from affecting diplomatic relations between the two. The move came after Spanish ministers accused Russia of spreading misinformation about the Catalan referendum.
Before the April 2019 general election, Spain created a team of about 100 officials to scour social media for potentially false or misleading political posts. It’s unclear how that team addressed such posts during the election.
Sri Lanka
Action: Internet shutdowns and legal revisions
Focus: Misinformation
Following India’s example, the Sri Lankan government has also shut down mobile phone networks and social media platforms in an effort to slow the spread of misinformation that has led to violence, according to Freedom House.
The practice expanded in April 2019, when the government blocked access to several social media platforms following terrorist attacks at several churches on Easter Sunday. The New York Times reported that the ban included Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and Viber.
But according to several onlookers, the measures didn’t work. BuzzFeed News reported on a Sri Lankan researcher who found that internet bans are quickly circumvented by users who employed virtual private networks. And AFP found that several hoaxes made the rounds online in spite of the social media shutdown.
In June 2019, Sri Lanka expanded its anti-misinformation efforts by announcing a series of revisions to the penal code. Ada Derana reported that the Cabinet of Ministers were revising the code to allow for the prosecution of people that spread false statements or hate speech that “that hinder the peace among communities and national security.”
Under that measure, offenders will be charged a fine of up to $5,667 or a prison sentence of up to five years.
Sweden
Action: Government authority and public handbook
Focus: Foreign disinformation campaigns
Ahead of the fall 2018 general election, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced a new “psychological defense” authority in mid-January aimed at countering disinformation and foreign influence campaigns.
Building off both the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and the parliamentary Defense Commission, the authority would “ensure that factual public information can be quickly and effectively communicated even under disruptive conditions, as well as identify, analyze and confront influencing operations.”
On the whole, Sweden’s proposed authority has a different flavor than those in other countries; rather than attempting to directly fight false or misleading information, it instead is aimed at promoting factual content. A start date for the body has not yet been set.
Sometime in 2018, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency updated its public emergency preparedness brochure to include a section about false information. It warns of potential foreign disinformation campaigns and includes a list of things citizens can do to fact-check information online.
Taiwan
Action: Bill and legal revisions
Focus: Misinformation
Taiwanese lawmakers are considering adding a clause to the state’s Social Order Maintenance Act that criminalizes the spread of misinformation.
Under the new law, which the ruling Democratic Progressive Party introduced in early June, people who publish misinformation online could be punished by up to three days in jail or a fine of up to $30,000 New Taiwan dollars (US$1,000). The existing regulation already imposes fines and prison time for anyone who spreads rumors.
In mid-June 2018, the bill was assigned to a committee for review and consultation with experts and stakeholders. CPJ reported the bill could have been back in parliament for readings in mid-September.
In December, Taiwanese lawmakers added a clause to the state’s Social Order Maintenance Act that criminalizes the spread of misinformation. Under the law, which was introduced by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, people who publish misinformation online could be punished by up to three days in jail or a fine of up to $30,000 New Taiwan dollars (US$1,000).
Taiwan’s legislature is reviewing proposals to introduce even harsher penalties, by increasing the fine to up to $300,000 New Taiwan dollars and six months in jail.
In July 2019, the South China Morning Post reported that more than 110 people had already been arrested under the law amid nationwide fears of “red media,” or Beijing-funded misinformation campaigns meant to destabilize Taiwan.
The Taiwanese justice ministry’s investigation bureau is also looking into whether China is funding any misinformation campaigns in favor of certain candidates ahead of the country’s presidential elections, which will take place in January 2020.
In March, Reporters Without Borders released a report identifying Taiwan as the main target of Beijing’s disinformation operations. Taiwanese authorities have been alerting the public to be wary of fake news and “red media.”
In April 2019, the Taiwan cabinet approved changes to two criminal articles that address false reports about “trade safety” and people’s “reputation and trust,” Voice of America reported. The revisions included “increased penalties for the spread of misinformation by mobile or internet media.”
However, Taiwan’s parliament must approve the legal revisions before they take effect.
Tanzania
Action: Blog licensing
Focus: Media regulation*
Tanzania is taking advantage of growing concern about online misinformation to levy new regulations against online publishers.
The Financial Times reported that the government plans to charge bloggers about $920 a year for the privilege of publishing online — in a country with a nominal per capita income of less than $900.
The Tanzanian government says the move is an effort to curtail lies online by passing costs on to publishers. The High Court paused the May 5, 2018, implementation after activists and media outlets challenged it, but it later passed.
Violators will be fined a minimum of five million Tanzanian shillings (US $2,202), jailed for no less than a year or both. The Verge reported that the law has already discouraged many young content creators to go offline.
*This law does not address misinformation directly, as others have reported.
Thailand
Focus: Media regulation and misinformation
Citing “fake news,” Thai officials have been expanding a 2007 law called the Computer Crime Act that punishes anti-government criticism, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Now, instead of only focusing on statements made about the monarchy in Thailand, officials can go after journalists and bloggers who make anti-military claims. Per the law, violators could face up to 15 years in prison.
In June 2018, Thai authorities issued warrants for the arrest of 29 people who had allegedly shared or liked false claims on Facebook, the South China Morning Post reported. Other citizens ranging from rappers to political campaigners have been charged under the law, the BBC reported.
Thailand, which has been governed by a military junta since 2014, was classified as having a “not free” press in Freedom Press’ annual census.
During an election in March 2019, Thai authorities continued to crack down on people who allegedly spread false information on Facebook. The AFP reported that nine people were detained for sharing posts that claimed two election commissioners had been fired and that 600,000 illegitimate ballots had been counted.
The accused face up to five years in jail and a $3,100 fine.
In July 2019, Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Minister announced plans to set up a “Fake News Center” with the cooperation of the police, the military, the Consumer Protection Board, the Food and Drugs Administration and the Public Relations Department.
The minister said the center would be responsible for eliminating social media content that put peoples’ safety at risk or violated the Computer Crime Act.
Turkey
Action: Investigation
Focus: Misinformation
Amid an economic crisis in Turkey, the government launched an investigation into what it’s calling fake news stories aimed at manipulating the economy.
The Capital Markets Board said that it would seek legal action against individuals who publish “erroneous and fabricated news and statements” about banks, companies and financial institutions, The Financial Times reported. The potential punishment could be between two and five years in prison, as well as fines.
In addition, the Interior Ministry opened an investigation into 346 social media accounts that “provoke the currency rate increase,” CNN reported.
Uganda
Action: Social media tax
Focus: Internet regulation*
A new tax in Uganda that charges citizens for the ability to use social media platforms went into effect July 1, 2018.
The tax, which President Yoweri Museveni introduced in May reportedly to cut down on the spread of gossip, is primarily aimed at creating another revenue stream for the government. The government — which shut down social media during the 2016 election — is charging mobile phone users 200 Ugandan shillings ($0.05) for using platforms like WhatsApp, Viber, Twitter, and Skype. Museveni compared the platforms to commodities like alcohol and tobacco.
While it’s still unclear how the government is going to detect when users log into social media accounts and then tax them, critics say the law is an attempt to co-opt concerns about misinformation to further regulate free speech. Uganda has partial press freedom, according to Freedom House.
*This does not directly address misinformation, as others have reported.
United Arab Emirates
Action: Government threats
Focus: Misinformation
During a talk in October 2018, a Dubai police official told citizens that sharing misinformation on social media is a crime punishable by law. Under the law, sharing rumors online could merit a fine of up to Dh1 million (roughly $272,250).
United Kingdom
Action: Parliamentary report and task force
Focus: Misinformation and foreign disinformation campaigns*
After 18 months of thinking about how the government should address misinformation, U.K. lawmakers published a report on July 29, 2018.
The recommendations that the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of Parliament issued include: a rejection of the term “fake news,” applying existing media regulations to online news and the creation of a working group to research how misinformation spreads.
The British government has also set up the National Security Communications Unit, which is tasked with “combating disinformation by state actors and others.” That decision came amid an investigation of Russia’s reported use of fake social media accounts to spread misinformation about the Brexit referendum in summer 2016.
While details are scant, The Conversation reported that the initiative echoes a Cold War-era tactic.
In July 2019, the U.K.’s education and health Secretaries announced at a summit that there would be new content added to schools’ curricula aimed at teaching kids how to spot misinformation online.
*It’s not clear that this effort targets misinformation instead of propaganda, as others have reported.
United States
Action: Proposed federal law, platform testimonies, failed state advisory group, state media literacy law, threat assessment, state media literacy initiatives and state lawsuits
Focus: Political ads, foreign disinformation, general misinformation, media literacy and deepfake videos
Confirmed by intelligence agencies, Russian meddling on social media during the 2016 U.S. presidential election has resulted in several piecemeal actions from the federal government.
First, Congress announced a bill in October 2017 that would require online platforms such as Facebook and Google to keep copies of ads, make them public and keep tabs on who is paying — and how much. Essentially, the legislation attempts to impose existing TV and radio ad regulations on social media companies.
Then, in November 2017, representatives from Facebook, Twitter and Google testified to a Senate judiciary committee on their role in spreading disinformation during the election. During that meeting, there was broad consensus that Russia did manipulate their platforms, but the platforms projected an appearance of control when it comes to monitoring fake accounts and ad buyers.
Meanwhile, the California state government passed a law in September 2018 that bolsters media literacy in public schools. It requires the Department of Education to list instructional materials and resources on how to evaluate trustworthy media. The law was inspired by a Stanford University student who found that most students can’t distinguish between sponsored content and news stories and comes amid several current and former attempts to improve media literacy in at least 24 states.
One of those states is Washington, where lawmakers are debating a media literacy bill that would establish a grant program for organizations working to include media literacy in school curricula. And in 2018, Massachusetts lawmakers passed a bill that mandates civic education with an emphasis on media literacy.
Also in California, Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have created an advisory group aimed at monitoring the spread of misinformation on social media and coming up with potential solutions. The group, which Brown called “not necessary,” would have asked social media companies, NGOs and First Amendment scholars to present their findings by Dec. 31, 2019.
In mid-September 2018, two Democrats and one Republican representative sent a letter to the director of national intelligence asking the intelligence community to assess the possible national security threats posed by deepfake technology and present a report to Congress by the end of 2018. Lawmakers cited the potential for foreign adversaries to use deepfake videos against U.S. interests as a key reason to investigate them.
In January 2019, a company that created fake social media profiles to make millions of dollars in revenue settled a case with the New York state attorney, CNN reported. The settlement is the first case in which law enforcement has concluded that selling fake social media activity is illegal.
Vietnam
Action: Law
Focus: Misinformation
In January 2019, a new Vietnamese law took effect that requires internet service providers to disclose user data so that the government can trace the origin of specific posts.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Cyber Security Law also requires platforms like Facebook to delete content at the government’s request. Per Vietnamese law, spreading false information is already a crime that can land someone in prison.
Regulators approved the new law in June amid protest from tech platforms, Reuters reported.
Are we missing a proposed law or other action against online misinformation? Email dfunke@poynter.org or use the form below and we’ll update the story accordingly.
Updates
August 13: The sections for Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, The Philippines and the United Kingdom were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Burkina Faso, Mexico and Oman.
June 13: The sections for Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Indonesia, Russia, Rwanda, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Bahrain, Benin, Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
April 9, 2019: The sections for Denmark, Egypt, France, Russia, Singapore, Sweden and the United States were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Israel and The Netherlands.
Feb. 12, 2019: The sections for Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroon, France, Singapore and the United States were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand and Vietnam.
Jan. 8, 2019: The sections for Bangladesh, Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and the United States were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Cameroon, Kazakhstan, Rwanda and Sri Lanka.
Oct. 31, 2018: The sections for Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United States were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Sept. 25, 2018: The sections for Brazil, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Australia and Turkey.
July 24, 2018: The sections for France, Tanzania and Uganda were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Cambodia, Denmark, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia and Taiwan.
July 2, 2018: The sections for France, Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S. were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Belarus and India.
May 22, 2018: The sections for Brazil and Malaysia were updated with the latest news. New entries were created for Belgium, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
April 9, 2018: The section for Malaysia was updated with the latest news.
Corrections
Oct. 31, 2018: A previous version of this story stated that Malaysia’s anti-misinformation law had been repealed, per a report from The Guardian. In fact, the law had only been repealed by one house of Parliament, not two.
April 9, 2018: A previous version of this story stated that an Irish bill aimed at criminalizing the creation of multiple fake social media accounts to spread political messages was downvoted in parliament. In fact, the bill criminalizes the creation of multiple accounts only if they’re made to look like different people, and the bill was downvoted by the ruling party but passed by a narrow margin to the committee stage.
Written by Daniel Funke and Daniela Flamini
Reporting by Daniela Flamini, Daniel Funke, Masato Kajimoto and Alexander Damiano Ricci
Designed by Daniel Funke and Ren LaForme
Edited by Barbara Allen and Alexios Mantzarlis