Media in Ukraine

Chronicle

2025: Ukrainian online media ordered to remove negative comments about officials

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a law obliging online media to remove negative comments about state officials within three days from the date of receipt of a notice to open a court case. The document was signed on January 14, 2025.

According to Газета.ru, the bill amends the article of the law "On Media," which regulates responsibility for the dissemination of inaccurate information. Previously, online publications were supposed to remove dubious information from comments within three days only after receiving a prescription from the National Council.

𝓲

Фото: Freepik

The initiator of the document was the head of the committee on freedom of speech of Ukraine Yaroslav Yurchishin. The bill was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada on June 5, 2024 and passed all the necessary approval procedures.

Experts of the Ukrainian "Forensic Legal Newspaper" note that the new law can lead to the massive removal of comments with information about the corrupt activities of officials, since many officials tend to consider any negative information about themselves unreliable.

According to the adopted law, the burden of proving the reliability of information falls on the user who left the comment. If the author cannot confirm the veracity of his claims, the online media will be obliged to delete the comment.

The law sets a tight time frame for responding to content removal requirements - just three days from being notified of a trial. This significantly limits the media's ability to verify the credibility of the disputed information.

According to legal experts, the new rules can lead to a significant reduction in criticisms of civil servants on online media platforms and significantly affect the nature of public discussion in the Ukrainian media space.^[1]

Notes