Criminalization of spreading false news

Abstract

The current research constitutes a comparative legal inquiry into the necessity of criminalization of spreading false information. The data for the research was collected through the examination of existing literature on the issue of criminalization of false speech or communicating false information (although the wording may be different the essence is the same) as well as the analysis of the current legal landscape of Armenia. The aim of the analysis was to understand the existing international approaches, identify the regulation adopted in Armenia (if any) and recommend the most appropriate solution for the issue at hand. The said scheme of analysis was employed due to the field specific factors of law in general: the identification of the best approach necessitates an inquiry into the existing practices. The current analysis includes references to different inquiries undertaken in recent years, i. e. the regulations implemented in France, Germany, USA, Singapore. Secondly, papers prepared by international organizations, namely Council of Europe’s report titled “Information disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making”, as well as Recommendation No. R (2000) 7 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe addressed to member states. The Recommendation clarifies issues concerning the rights of journalists not to disclose their sources of information. Subsequently, the research includes opinions expressed by the European Court of Human Rights, in particular, in cases of Handyside v UK, McVicar v UK etc. Lastly, the norms of Civil, Criminal laws and legislation on mass media are used to discover the state-of-the-art in Armenia.