"Reporters Without Borders' Stance on US-Brazil Policy Undermines Press Freedom"

From Jacob Mchangama (The Bedrock Principle), a leading scholar of free speech history and of international speech restrictions:

Last week, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued one of the more remarkable statements I’ve seen from a group dedicated to press freedom. It criticized the Trump administration for imposing 50% tariffs on Brazil in response to what the U.S. called the Brazilian government and judiciary’s “unprecedented actions to tyrannically and arbitrarily coerce U.S. companies to censor political speech.”

To be clear, there are fair reasons to question the administration’s sincerity and its focus on Brazil. Why, for instance, isn’t the U.S. going after Russia, which has long banned U.S. tech companies for spreading “illegal content” and fined Google $360 million in 2022 and $78 million this year for failing to remove “prohibited material”? Meanwhile, the administration’s own record on speech and press freedom at home severely undermines its credibility when criticizing wrongdoings abroad.

But these were not RSF’s objections. Instead, one of the world’s best-known press-freedom organizations effectively endorsed Brazil’s approach:

“Using free speech as a pretext for trade sanctions is both cynical and misleading. Freedom of expression does not excuse disinformation, and it is not a shield for corporate influence. Brazil must not back off legitimate regulatory efforts designed to strengthen the right to reliable information and protect democratic debate online. Initiatives to counter disinformation, hate speech, and online harm are essential to protect journalism and democratic debate.”

According to RSF, prohibiting “disinformation” is not only legitimate but necessary—and it strengthens, rather than weakens, journalism and democratic debate. That’s an unusual stance for a press-freedom group….

Much worth reading in its entirety.

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