How much should journalists hold back when covering terrorism in Europe? By Jean-Paul Marthoz European journalists are on edge. Since the brutal execution of eight colleagues at the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015, they have become acutely aware that they are in the firing line of...
Reporters at Spain's ABC face trial for allegedly revealing investigation secrets
May 2, 2016 12:50 PM ET
Brussels, May 2, 2016--A Madrid court has ruled that Cruz Morcillo and Pablo Muñoz, two journalists at the Spanish daily ABC, should face trial for their reporting on a police wiretap investigation into suspected members of the Italian Camorra crime syndicate, according to news reports and Muñoz....
EU rulings on whistleblowers and right-to-be-forgotten laws puts press freedom at risk
April 14, 2016 3:43 PM ET
European journalists were reminded today that their freedom to report is not only determined by national laws, but increasingly by European institutions. Today, after years of political battle, the European Parliament adopted the Passenger Name Record directive, the Data Protection Package, and the Trade Secrets Protection Act. The stakes...
Press freedom at risk as EU struggles to match action with values The European Union strives to be a global leader in press freedom but faces challenges from member states that have criminal defamation and blasphemy laws, and have introduced counterterrorism measures, including mass surveillance. The EU has made press...
Summary The European Union describes itself as a model for press freedom and an exemplary global power. Although many of its 28 member states feature at the top of international press freedom rankings, there are significant challenges that undermine press freedom and new threats are emerging....
Four international reporters missing in north Syria
July 21, 2015 5:29 PM ET
Beirut, July 21, 2015--At least four international journalists have been reported missing in northern Syria in two separate incidents in the past month, in the latest indication of the profound dangers of reporting from inside the war-torn country....
Why Spain's new gag law is threat to free flow of information
May 1, 2015 1:33 PM ET
On July 1 a public security law is due to come into force in Spain amid an increasingly vocal chorus of concern among the media and press freedom groups. The bill--dubbed the "ley mordaza," or "gag law," by opposition groups--would define protests in front of parliament and other government...
Two continents, two courts, two approaches to privacy
April 27, 2015 11:01 AM ET
At 3:20 a.m. on August 24, 2014, the strongest earthquake in a quarter-century rocked the San Francisco Bay Area, causing damage widely estimated at between $300 million and $1 billion....
EU 'right to be forgotten' ruling will corrupt history
June 4, 2014 3:27 PM ET
Google has taken its first public steps to comply with a troubling ruling by the European Court of Justice establishing a so-called "right to be forgotten" throughout the European Union. The ruling, on May 13, requires that search companies consider individuals' demands to remove Internet links that reference them, and...
EU underscores support of free expression, but slights access to information
May 28, 2014 2:13 PM ET
A new document on freedom of expression and opinion, adopted May 12 by the 28 foreign ministers of the European Union, presses nearly all the right buttons. Drawing its inspiration from international human rights norms as well as from the EU's treaties and its charter of fundamental rights, the document...