‘State has to protect the freedom of the media’

The State has to protect – in any way necessary – the media’s freedom, which is jeopardised by unscrupulous entities that resort to foreign jurisdictions, MEP Roberta Metsola is insisting. “When a bank that has been accused of being in the centre of illicit activities, including money laundering, begins to go after Malta’s critical media houses using foreign jurisdictions, there is a problem,” the Nationalist MEP told the Times of Malta. It puts the very freedom of our media at risk, she said. Malta’s media houses did not always have the resources to fight hugely expensive battles in foreign courts and the threat of expensive civil litigation abroad was used to try intimidate, harass and manipulate. Earlier this month, Times of Malta editors said they amended some online content after acting on legal advice on “a serious threat to freedom of the press and to the very existence of our organisation.” “The freedom of the media and freedom of speech is something that must absolutely be protected by the State against unscrupulous actors in whatever way necessary,” Dr Metsola said. The MEP’s comments follow a conference she organised about media and security on Friday. Addressing the...