In times of armed conflict, governments will be routinely challenged on what limits on human rights they deem necessary and what standards they will preserve. Fighting disinformation can be one such challenge.
In Ukraine, which has been fighting a war with Russia for almost seven years, this was spotlighted last week when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree that resulted in three pro-Russia television channels with large viewership in Ukraine being taken off the air.
Zelenskyy’s decree, issued on 2 February enacted sanctions, imposed by the decision of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, against a Ukrainian MP Taras Kozak and eight companies under a 2014 law. The law grants the government authority to sanction foreign individuals and entities that they deem have engaged in activities which could threaten Ukraine’s national interests, national security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. The law also allows it to sanction other persons and entities (presumably including Ukrainian citizens and companies), for allegedly engaging in terrorist activities, without going before a court. The three channels — 112, ZIK and NewsOne — are among the eight sanctioned companies and are widely believed to be part of the media empire of Viktor Medvedchuk, an oligarch with close ties to Russia.
