The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Search: prior restraint, 1900 to 1949

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
CountryAustralia, RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180Brazil, RSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180Canada, RSF 2026 rank: 20th of 180GreeceIsrael, RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180JapanPortugal, RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180Russia, RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180Spain, RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180United Kingdom, RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180United States, RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180
ContinentAsiaEuropeNorth AmericaSouth AmericaOceania
TacticPrior restraint 13Licensing and closure of outlets 4Secrets and espionage laws 2Shutdowns and blocking 1Detention and violence 1Credential control 1Insult and defamation laws 1
StagePressure 1Silence 12
OutcomeReversed 6Sustained 5Ongoing 2
LevelNational 11Municipal 1State or province 1
Head of governmentAntónio de Oliveira SalazarDavid Ben-GurionEurith D. RiversFrancisco FrancoFranklin D. RooseveltFumimaro KonoeGeorgios TsolakoglouGetúlio VargasHerbert Henry AsquithJohn CurtinTheodore ChristiansonVladimir LeninWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King

13 incidents match this view.

TableCardsCSVJSONMarkdown
DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
1948Israel retains a British-era law giving the military the power to review and restrict the pressIsrael (RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180)Prior restraintDavid Ben-GurionOngoing (1 January 1989)
16 April 1944Australia's wartime government seizes a Sydney newspaper edition under press controls rulesAustralia (RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180)Prior restraintJohn CurtinReversed (18 April 1944)
19 December 1941United States creates an Office of Censorship and a wartime code for the pressUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Prior restraintFranklin D. RooseveltSustained (28 September 1945)
8 May 1941Greece: collaborationist government creates a Directorate-General for Press and Radio to review films and publications before releaseGreece (RSF rank: not recorded)Prior restraintGeorgios TsolakoglouSustained
3 September 1939Canada: War Measures Act regulations authorize review of hundreds of newspapers and ban political organizationsCanada (RSF 2026 rank: 20th of 180)Prior restraintWilliam Lyon Mackenzie KingSustained (31 December 1945)
1939Brazil's Vargas government creates a state messaging department with broad press powersBrazil (RSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsGetúlio VargasReversed (1 January 1945)
April 1938Franco's Spain requires state permission to be a journalist under a wartime Press LawSpain (RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180)Credential controlFrancisco FrancoReversed (1 April 1977)
28 March 1938United States: Supreme Court strikes down a Georgia city's permit requirement for distributing literature, 1938United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Prior restraintEurith D. RiversReversed (28 March 1938)
July 1937Japan: government requires clearance to publish war news under the Newspaper Law, 1937Japan (RSF rank: not recorded)Prior restraintFumimaro KonoeSustained
1933Portugal's Salazar government formally establishes press controls under a new constitutionPortugal (RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180)Prior restraintAntónio de Oliveira SalazarReversed (25 April 1974)
1927Minnesota closes The Saturday Press in 1927; the Supreme Court strikes down the law in 1931United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Prior restraintTheodore ChristiansonReversed (1 June 1931)
1922Glavlit created: Soviet censorship office, 1922Russia (RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180)Prior restraintVladimir LeninOngoing (1 January 1989)
27 August 1914Britain's Official Press Bureau controls newspaper coverage of the First World WarUnited Kingdom (RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180)Prior restraintHerbert Henry AsquithSustained (12 November 1914)
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