Tunisia softens its ‘false news’ penalty. What really changed, and why now?
Summary
Tunisia has changed a law that punished people for spreading false information online. Now, first-time offenders can pay fines instead of going to jail, but repeat offenders may still face prison time.Key Facts
- The change is to Decree 54, a law from September 2022 targeting false news spread electronically.
- First-time offenders will be fined between 10,000 to 20,000 Tunisian dinars ($3,370 to $6,740) instead of serving five years in prison.
- Repeat offenders can still face jail time.
- The law was criticized for being used to jail journalists, activists, and government critics.
- The decree punished spreading untrue information that could harm security, reputation, or public order.
- The harshest penalties included prison up to 10 years and fines over $32,000 for targeting public officials.
- Human rights and media groups said the law was used to limit free speech and silence opposition.
- Hundreds of journalists and activists have been prosecuted under this decree since 2022.
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