up to three years in prison for spreading “disinformation”

Turkey’s parliament last night approved a law that would punish the spread of what is considered disinformation with a maximum prison term of three years. Critics point to a censorship law, which aims to further restrict freedom of the press and criticism of the government.

The new law criminalizes the “deliberate sharing of misleading information that endangers security, public order and public health”. The government says it wants to put an end to the dissemination of fake news.

Anyone found guilty of spreading “disinformation” online faces up to three years in prison. This not only involves posting fake news on social media, but also sharing other people’s posts and information that are labeled as fake news by Turkish authorities. Penalties could be even higher if this news is spread through an anonymous account.

A group of 22 international organizations fighting for freedom of expression and freedom of the press are sounding the alarm over the law. According to the organisations, the law will lead to the censorship of online information and the “criminalization of journalism”.

Turkey ranks 149th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index this year. International organizations fear the new law could affect journalistic reporting ahead of next year’s Turkish elections.

Turkey’s opposition parties also expressed anger over the new law last night. Turkish parliamentarian Burak Erbey smashed his phone with a hammer in protest. “If this law passes, you can break your phone this way,” he said. “You don’t need to use it anymore.”

Watch here how Erbey suddenly pulls out a hammer during his speech and starts hacking into his cell phone:

Before the law was passed yesterday, the proposal was criticized by journalists, press freedom monitors and the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe. According to the advisory body, the new law threatens freedom of expression and could further harm journalism in Turkey. The committee called for the bill to be dropped, but no action was taken.