The Council did not support the draft law on the release of information from the registers, which is criticized by journalists

Deputies did not support and sent for a repeated second reading draft law No. 10242 on the strengthening of criminal liability for the dissemination of information from electronic registers, which, according to journalists, threatens freedom of speech and the fight against corruption. People’s deputy from the “Voice” faction, head of the Verkhovna Rada committee on freedom of speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, announced this on December 4.

Only 213 deputies supported the draft law (226 votes are needed to pass the law).

“Now is the time for consultations on information protection in registers. What was proposed,” said the parliamentarian.

Earlier, Yurchyshyn suggested withdrawing this draft law from the agenda and conducting additional consultations with international partners and media persons regarding options for protecting personal data without infringing on the rights of journalists.

In the morning, the Verkhovna Rada committee on law enforcement reviewed the draft law on strengthening criminal responsibility and proposed a punishment of two to five years instead of five to eight years of imprisonment. This was reported to Radio Liberty (Svoboda.Ranok) by Andrii Osadchuk, the first deputy chairman of the Committee on Law Enforcement, People’s Deputy from the “Voice” faction.

On the eve of the Ukrainian Media movement, media and human rights organizations called on the Verkhovna Rada not to support draft law No. 10242 in its current version, because, according to the authors of the appeal, it “poses significant threats to freedom of speech, the work of journalists, the protection of journalistic sources and whistleblowers of corruption in Ukraine.”

Draft Law No. 10242 provides for “amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the establishment of criminal liability for unauthorized interference, sale or distribution of information processed in public electronic registers and strengthening criminal liability during martial law for criminal offenses in the use of information and communication systems” . The document was registered in the parliament on November 9, 2023 and is currently being prepared for a repeated second reading.