Libel

Chilling’: Vanuatu libel bill prompts fears for free speech

Changes to the criminal libel and slander provisions of the South Pacific country’s Penal Code Act mean that Ni-Vanuatu could now face imprisonment for “any representation that is untrue or misleading” on public platforms including “television, radio, internet websites, social networking sites and blog sites”.

The amendments were passed by Vanuatu’s parliament on Monday and will become law once gazetted by the president.