The record
Incidents: official labels, outcome sustained
Each incident is a dated action by a government, an official, a regulator, a court or a legislature that limited journalists' ability to gather or publish news.
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
All filters: country, dates, head of government, sort
Russia: law on asset freezes and service denials for exiled "foreign agents", August 2026
On August 4, 2026, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, signed a law, adopted unanimously by the Russian parliament on July 24, 2026, that allows the authorities to freeze bank accounts, block property and vehicle sales and deny consul…
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Pakistan amends cybercrime law to create new agency policing 'fake' online content
Pakistan's parliament amended the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act to create a new Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority with power to block online content and a Social Media Protection Tribunal, and made spreading informatio…
Official labels · Stage Punish · Head of government Shehbaz Sharif · Sustained
Georgia enacts 'foreign influence' law requiring media to register as foreign-backed
Georgia's parliament passed a law requiring media and civil-society groups that receive 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad to register as organizations "serving the interests of a foreign power," over mass street protests and…
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Irakli Kobakhidze · Sustained
Nicaragua strips 94 political opponents, including journalists, of citizenship
A Nicaraguan appeals court stripped 94 government opponents, including exiled journalists Carlos Fernando Chamorro and Alvaro Navarro, of their citizenship, days after President Daniel Ortega released 222 political prisoners to the United…
Expulsion and visa denial · Stage Eliminate · Head of government Daniel Ortega · Sustained
Belarus: Deutsche Welle and other outlets labeled 'extremist'
A Minsk court declared all output from German broadcaster Deutsche Welle "extremist," alongside a local newspaper and a Russian blogger's videos, making it a crime to produce, store or share the labeled material, as a former correspondent…
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Alexander Lukashenko · Sustained
Russia: independent outlet Meduza designated a 'foreign agent'
Russia's Justice Ministry labeled the independent news site Meduza and outlet PASMI "foreign agents," a status requiring constant public disclosure, quarterly reports and audits, and carrying up to two years in prison for noncompliance, wh…
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Russia: new laws penalize online "fake news" and "disrespecting authorities"
Russia's parliament passed laws letting courts jail and fine people, including journalists, for posting information the government alone judges to be false, or for statements found to disrespect officials or state symbols online.
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Vladimir Putin · Sustained
Vietnam: Decree 72 restricts blogs to personal information
Vietnam's Decree 72 took effect in September 2013, barring bloggers and social media users from linking to or reposting news from press organizations or foreign government websites, restricting them to sharing personal information only.
Official labels · Stage Pressure · Head of government Nguyen Tan Dung · Sustained
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