,
Ukrainian journalist, founder of a popular Internet newspaper
Ukrayinska Pravda, who was kidnapped and murdered in 2000. In December 2010 the
OpenNet Initiative found little evidence of Internet filtering in Ukraine in all four areas (political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools) they tested. In its
Freedom on the Net report covering the period from May 2012 to April 2013,
Freedom House found the internet in Ukraine to be "largely unhindered" and rated the internet in Ukraine as "Free" with an overall score of 28, on a scale from 0 (most free) to 100 (least free). The report said that "there is no practice of institutionalized blocking or filtering, or a regulatory framework for censorship of content online", but "there have been attempts at creating legislation which could censor or limit content" and would "present indirect threats to freedom of information online." Access to the internet in Ukraine remains largely unfettered. Ukraine possesses relatively liberal legislation governing the Internet and access to information. The Law on Protection of Public Morals of 20 November 2003, prohibits the production and circulation of pornography; dissemination of products that propagandize war or spread national and religious intolerance; humiliation or insult to an individual or nation on the grounds of nationality, religion, or ignorance; and the propagation of "drug addiction, toxicology, alcoholism, smoking and other bad habits." The law provides for
freedom of speech and
press. However, the Ukrainian government does not always respect these rights in practice. Individuals can criticize the government.
Libel is considered a civil offence, and the law limits the level of damages that may be claimed in libel lawsuits. The press is free to criticize express opinions, and public officials have fewer legal protections from criticism than other citizens. However, local media observers have expressed concern over high monetary damages demanded and awarded for alleged libel. The constitution prohibits arbitrary interference of privacy, family, home, or correspondence, but authorities generally do not respect these prohibitions. In 2014, amid increasing tensions with Russia, the Ukrainian government became more intolerant of the press. Under the impact of war and social polarization, the democratic credentials of the pro-European Kyiv government have been slipping as well. A crackdown on what authorities describe as “pro-separatist” points of view has triggered dismay among Western human rights monitors. For example, the September 11, 2014 shutdown of the independent Kyiv-based Vesti newspaper by the Ukrainian Security Service for “violating Ukraine's territorial integrity” brought condemnation from the international Committee to Protect Journalists and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) broke into the office of a Kyiv-based digital newspaper “Vesti”, physically trapping reporters and ultimately shutting down the website. Vesti News's editor-in-chief Igor Guzhva wrote on his Facebook page that the news outlet had been raided by SBU. The SBU reportedly took all servers, kept staffers in a "hot corridor" and shut down the website completely. Guzhva said that the purpose of the raid was "to block our work.". “Journalists are not being let into their office," Guzhva wrote. "Those who were already inside at the moment of the raid are being kept in the building and are not allowed to use cell phones.” Guzhva said that this is the second time in just six months that the SBU has tried to "intimidate" its editors. He added that he is unsure of the reason for the raid, but suspects that it might have to do with a story the website published about the SBU chief's daughter. On 16 May 2017,
President Poroshenko signed a decree requiring providers to block access to a number of Russian websites, including four of the most popular websites in Ukraine:
VKontakte,
Odnoklassniki,
Yandex and
Mail.Ru. The president claimed they participated in an information war against Ukraine. Respondents in an online poll on the UNIAN site declared that 66% were “categorically against” the ban of Russian sites and another 11% said it would be easier to “ban the whole internet, like in North Korea”. The move was widely criticised as censorship, and
Reporters Without Borders condemned the ban, calling it a "disproportionate measure that seriously undermines the Ukrainian people's right to information and freedom of expression." == During the Russian invasion of Ukraine ==