EditorialQuality journalism to benefit from Hong Kong shelving law against fake news
- Thankfully, Hong Kong authorities recognise the healthy development of the media industry and its consumers is the way to go, not legislation that is difficult to draft and inevitably restricts press freedom
The government has finally shelved a law against fake news first proposed in 2021 in the wake of social unrest and amid the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. The decision is welcome.
The administration has listened to community concerns about risks to press freedom and free speech, especially from the media industry. A fake news law could have opened a Pandora’s box of complications for these fundamental rights.
Around the world, such laws have proved problematic and are mostly used as a tool to control the media.
That is not to say fake news and the social division and mischief it creates have subsided; quite the reverse. But free societies can and must find other ways to deal with them.
Fake news laws are difficult to draft and inevitably restrict press freedom. It is good that the government has recognised this.
There are already laws that apply to the more serious forms of disinformation, including a new offence of spreading false information under the Article 23 domestic national security law. There is no need for further restrictions.