The UK government is rushing the National Security (State Threats) Bill 2026 through Parliament this week, and it should concern anyone who cares about press freedom. On the surface, the Bill addresses real problems: transnational repression, foreign interference, attacks on dissidents and communities. These are genuine threats that deserve serious legislative attention. But the devil, as always, is in the details.
The Bill creates criminal offences carrying up to 14 years' imprisonment for anyone who supports, assists, or obtains "material benefits" from a designated group. And material benefits include information. So a journalist doing their job, interviewing someone, getting a right of reply, could find themselves on the wrong side of this law.
The government says journalistic freedom is a "relevant defence". But it's in the policy paper, not the Bill itself, where it would carry legal weight. And it's hopelessly vague. Who counts as a journalist? Freelancers? Bloggers? Stringers? New media outlets? We've seen these questions play out painfully in Gaza, where arguments about who qualifies as a journalist have raged from the start.
When laws like this pass at breakneck speed, without proper scrutiny, without MPs having time to ask questions and get answers, the risks multiply. Index on Censorship, led by CEO Jemimah Steinfeld, is raising the alarm, and rightly so.
Democracy depends on journalists who investigate all sides of a story, even the uncomfortable ones. Laws that make that harder, or criminal, don't protect us. They weaken us.
#PressFreedom #FreeSpeech #UKPolitics #NationalSecurityBill #Journalism #CivilLiberties #DigitalRights #Censorship
The Bill creates criminal offences carrying up to 14 years' imprisonment for anyone who supports, assists, or obtains "material benefits" from a designated group. And material benefits include information. So a journalist doing their job, interviewing someone, getting a right of reply, could find themselves on the wrong side of this law.
The government says journalistic freedom is a "relevant defence". But it's in the policy paper, not the Bill itself, where it would carry legal weight. And it's hopelessly vague. Who counts as a journalist? Freelancers? Bloggers? Stringers? New media outlets? We've seen these questions play out painfully in Gaza, where arguments about who qualifies as a journalist have raged from the start.
When laws like this pass at breakneck speed, without proper scrutiny, without MPs having time to ask questions and get answers, the risks multiply. Index on Censorship, led by CEO Jemimah Steinfeld, is raising the alarm, and rightly so.
Democracy depends on journalists who investigate all sides of a story, even the uncomfortable ones. Laws that make that harder, or criminal, don't protect us. They weaken us.
#PressFreedom #FreeSpeech #UKPolitics #NationalSecurityBill #Journalism #CivilLiberties #DigitalRights #Censorship