Tactic
Prior restraint
An order or rule that stops something from being published before it appears, rather than penalising it afterwards. Examples are boards that must approve articles, books or films before release, court injunctions against publication, and rules that require officials to review material before it is published.
The earliest incident in the record using this tactic is dated 27 August 1914.
The ladder for prior restraint: where this tactic has led, stage by stage
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
Incidents by country and year
Argentina, RSF 2026 rank: 98th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 March 1976 | Argentina's military junta threatens journalists with prison for reporting on its opponents | Eliminate | Jorge Rafael Videla | Reversed (10 December 1983) |
Australia, RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 April 1944 | Australia's wartime government seizes a Sydney newspaper edition under press controls rules | Silence | John Curtin | Reversed (18 April 1944) |
Brazil, RSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Brazil's Vargas government creates a state messaging department with broad press powers | Silence | Getúlio Vargas | Reversed (1 January 1945) |
| 13 December 1968 | Brazil's military government decrees the Fifth Institutional Act and moves to control the press | Silence | Artur da Costa e Silva | Unknown |
Canada, RSF 2026 rank: 20th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 1939 | Canada: War Measures Act regulations authorize review of hundreds of newspapers and ban political organizations | Silence | William Lyon Mackenzie King | Sustained (31 December 1945) |
Czechia, RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 August 1968 | Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is followed by the return of government press controls | Silence | Alexander Dubček | Reversed (1 November 1989) |
Egypt, RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2018 | Egypt: a license requirement leaves an independent news site unable to operate legally for years | Pressure | Abdel Fattah el-Sisi | Ongoing (26 October 2020) |
Germany, RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 October 1962 | West Germany: police raid Der Spiegel's offices and arrest its editors over a defense article | Punish | Konrad Adenauer | Unknown |
Greece, RSF rank: not recorded
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 May 1941 | Greece: collaborationist government creates a Directorate-General for Press and Radio to review films and publications before release | Silence | Georgios Tsolakoglou | Sustained |
India, RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 June 1975 | India imposes pre-press controls on every newspaper during the 1975 Emergency | Silence | Indira Gandhi | Reversed (21 March 1977) |
| 14 February 2023 | Indian tax authorities search BBC offices weeks after Modi documentary ban | Pressure | Narendra Modi | Unknown |
| March 2024 | Bombay High Court strikes down India's government 'fact check unit' rule | Pressure | Narendra Modi | Reversed (20 September 2024) |
Israel, RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Israel retains a British-era law giving the military the power to review and restrict the press | Silence | David Ben-Gurion | Ongoing (1 January 1989) |
| June 2010 | Israel: a court bars any mention of the 'Prisoner X' case | Silence | Benjamin Netanyahu | Unknown (1 June 2010) |
Japan, RSF rank: not recorded
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1937 | Japan: government requires clearance to publish war news under the Newspaper Law, 1937 | Silence | Fumimaro Konoe | Sustained |
Myanmar, RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 September 1988 | Burma's new military government tightens pre-publication press controls after seizing power | Silence | Saw Maung | Ongoing (1 January 1989) |
Philippines, RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 September 1972 | Philippines President Marcos closes every major news outlet under martial law | Silence | Ferdinand Marcos | Reversed (25 February 1986) |
Portugal, RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Portugal's Salazar government formally establishes press controls under a new constitution | Silence | António de Oliveira Salazar | Reversed (25 April 1974) |
Russia, RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | Glavlit created: Soviet censorship office, 1922 | Silence | Vladimir Lenin | Ongoing (1 January 1989) |
South Africa, RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 July 1950 | South Africa's Suppression of Communism Act lets the government ban publications and restrict individuals | Silence | Daniel François Malan | Reversed (31 July 1991) |
Spain, RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1938 | Franco's Spain requires state permission to be a journalist under a wartime Press Law | Silence | Francisco Franco | Reversed (1 April 1977) |
Türkiye, RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 February 2023 | Türkiye: the broadcast regulator fines and suspends channels for earthquake coverage | Pressure | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | Sustained (22 February 2023) |
United Kingdom, RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180
| Date | Incident | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 August 1914 | Britain's Official Press Bureau controls newspaper coverage of the First World War | Silence | Herbert Henry Asquith | Sustained (12 November 1914) |
| 17 November 1972 | United Kingdom court bars The Sunday Times from publishing an article on thalidomide | Silence | Edward Heath | Reversed (26 April 1979) |
| October 1988 | United Kingdom bars broadcasters from airing Sinn Féin members' own voices | Silence | Margaret Thatcher | Reversed (16 September 1994) |