Journos slam Turkey ‘disinformation’ bill

Turkish journalist organisations yesterday denounced a government-backed bill that could see offenders jailed for three years for spreading "disinformation", saying it threatened freedom of expression. The bill, due to before parliament Tuesday after being floated by the ruling AKP party in May, would force social media networks and internet sites to hand over details of users suspected of "propagating misleading information". Journalists, accompanied by opposition lawmakers, wore black masks in protest and unfurled banners: "Press is free", "No to the censorship law" and "free press is essential to democracy". As well as risking prison, journalists found to have broken the new law could also lose their press cards.