Activities of Cristian TERHEŞ related to 2021/2036(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Strengthening democracy, media freedom and pluralism in the EU (debate)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas independent journalism, freedom of expression and access to pluralistic information are key pillars of democracy; whereas civil society is essential for any democracy to thrive;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. Whereas public participation in the decision making process is fundamental in a democratic society; whereas, in order to have an effective public participation, the people and the NGOs must have access to accurate information from public authorities as well as a wide variety of media sources; whereas this information must be openly, publicly and uncensoredly discussed and debated in order for the public to form an informed opinion;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. Whereas free and independent media is indispensable in a democratic society, as it provides the public with information and acts as a watchdog exposing wrongdoing and inspiring debate;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
A c. Whereas the right to freedom of expression is a fundamental right that must be exercised with duty and responsibility, taking into consideration the fundamental right of the people to know the truth as well as the respect for the fundamental right to protect one’s reputation and privacy1a; whereas, in case of a conflict between these rights, any party must have access to civil courts in case the situation was not resolved amiably; _________________ 1a According to art. 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
A d. Whereas transparency and objectivity of media platforms are critical to fight disinformation and misinformation as well as foreign political interference and manipulation; whereas journalists have to present the facts accurately and objectively, clearly distinguishing between facts and opinions, as well as properly quoting a source or referring to it;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
A e. Whereas disinformation is a threat to the democratic process, but, at the same time, combating misinformation and disinformation cannot be used as a pretext to censor or restrict media freedom or freedom of expression;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
A f. Whereas errors might occur during reporting the facts or information; whereas, in such cases, the journalists, publishers, media hubs, platforms etc should, at the request of an interested party or at their own initiative, correct the record in order to accurately report or state the fact or the information; whereas such option would avoid unnecessary and costly litigations for all parties;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A g (new)
Recital A g (new)
A g. Whereas online platforms like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and others have censored content and journalists, which influenced negatively the debates on important issues and deprived people of knowing diverse opinions or different facts about important matters;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are lawsuits or other legal actions (e.g. injunctions, asset-freezing) based on civil and criminal law, as well as the threats of such actions, with the purpose of preventingharassing the journalist or the media outlet in order to prevent the dissemination of information and ideas as well as reporting on breaches of Union and national law, corruption or other fraudulent practices or of blocking public participation;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas SLAPPs within the Union are often cross-border in nature, which results in reporting delays as illustrated in many cases, often relating to cases of environmental protection, financial fraud and/or corruption, where they constitute a clear attempt to delay publication of information by halting or discrediting the work of individual journalists and publishing entities, hence depriving citizens of their right to information impacting as well media pluralism and diversity;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Calls on the Member States to include media literacy and critical thinking in the national curricula and work closely with journalists in this respect, at all levels of society, especially with the young public and those vulnerable to misinformation, disinformation and manipulation; encourages support for hubs of myths debunking and calls on the media platforms to act in this respect.
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that public participation which relies on a timely and accurately informed public also has an important role to play in the proper functioning of the internal market, as it is often through political discussion and public participation that breaches of Union law, corruption and other practices threatening the proper functioning of the internal market are made known to the public;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Draws attention to the fact that media pluralism and diversity is at risk when the very existence of small media providers has been affected by the deliberate threat of disproportionate damages by claimants through libel tourism.
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Highlights that in a democratic society the judicial system has a duty to keep a balance between competing human rights such as the freedom of expression and information, on one side, and the right to protect one's reputation, private and family life, on the other side;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Points to the wide variety of court practices, defamation and freedom of speech standards and points to the need for an increased predictability of jurisdiction, especially for journalists, academics and the media;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Highlights that in recent years online hate speech has become increasingly widespread against journalists, NGOs, academics and civil society, including those defending LGBTQI rights, religion and belief, thus threatening media freedom, freedom of expression and public safety given that online hate speech can incite real-world violence;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Calls on the end of censorship by giant online social platforms like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and others, and stresses the they have to respect the fundamental right of people to know diverse opinions and facts, as well as to express them accordingly;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Deplores that sometimes journalists are paying with their own lives for the simple fact of doing their jobs and being the watch dogs of our democracies; points to the tragic case of the Dutch investigative journalist Peter R. de Vries who has been shoot in Amsterdam in broad daylight;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Agrees with the numerous academics, legal practitioners and victims who point to the need for legislative action against the growing problem of cross- border SLAPPs; urgently calls, therefore, for the Brussels I and Rome II Regulations to be amendments in order to prevent ‘libel tourism’ or ‘forum shopping’; urgently calls for the introduction of a uniform choice of law rule for defamation, as well as for proposals for binding Union legislation on harmonised and effective safeguards for victims of SLAPPs across the Union, including through a directive; argues that without such legislative action, SLAPPs will continue to threaten the rule of law and the fundamental rights of freedom of expression, association and information in the Union; is concerned that if measures only address lawsuits regarding information, actions based on other civil matters or criminal procedures may still be used;
Amendment 269 #
13. Considers that it is essential to adopt a legislative measure protecting the role of journalists, academics, civil society and NGOs in preventing breaches of Union law and ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market; urges the Commission to present a proposal for legislation that sets out safeguards for persons investigating and reporting on these matters of public interest; asks the Member States, when acting in this respect, to balance the competing principles of freedom of expression and the right to protect one's reputation and private life by ensuring procedural fairness and enabling equality of arms;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Declares that the protection of legitimate rights arising from Union law, such as the right to protect one's reputation must be ensured by Member State courts and cannot be jeopardised, including the rights which are routinely cited in abusive lawsuits; defends at the same time and without prejudice to such protection, that it is necessary to prevent any abusive use of those rights in a manner which is manifestly contrary to the legislators’ intention when conferring them upon natural or legal persons; considers that preventing such abuse is equally necessary for the correct and uniform application of Union law, thereby safeguarding its effectiveness;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the Union Strategy to tackle Organised Crime 2021-2025, and calls for efforts to be stepped up efforts in this regard; notes that legislative and soft law measures cannot be effective in Member States where there are concerns about theis a clear evidence showing a lack of independence of the judiciary or the fight against corruption;