Pedro Barosa clarifies Portuguese legislation regarding disinformation and fake news
The Portuguese Media Regulatory Authority (ERC) has expressed concern about the rise of disinformation in the country and has drawn attention to cases of false information being shared. Between 7 April and 19 May, 4,514 posts were identified across social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube.
In addition, 16 cases of disinformation were found on political party pages. The ERC notes, however, that freedom of expression and the dynamics of political debate cannot be called into question. Nonetheless, a balance must be struck.
Pedro Barosa, a partner at Abreu Advogados and a specialist in Criminal Law, explained to Antena 1 that “there is nothing specifically set out by criminal legislators that penalises this type of behaviour.”
Even so, there are provisions, “such as Article 180 of the Portuguese Penal Code, which covers the crime of defamation and states that anyone who, in addressing a third party, attributes to another person or makes a judgment about them that is offensive to their honour or reputation, even if it is merely a suspicion, may be punished with a prison sentence of up to six months or a fine of up to 240 days.”
Listen to the full statement here (available only in Portuguese).
