Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Ukraine: Government rescinds decree requiring online publications to register

Via Reporters sans Frontières.

Reporters Without Borders today welcomed the Ukrainian transport and telecommunication ministry’s decision to rescind a May 2005 decree requiring online publications to register with the authorities. The requirement was a threat to free expression and had been criticised by many local news media and organisations.

The ministry said the decree had been rescinded because it did not respect “the principles of state regulatory policy in the field of IT development."

Aside from a few repressive countries such as China, only Bahrain has made it obligatory for online publications to register. Reporters Without Borders and the representative on freedom of the media of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) took a clear position on this issue in a joint statement about online free expression in June.

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