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On Journalist’s Day, we, representatives of Ukrainian media and human rights organizations, as well as the Media Movement, appeal to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, Members of Parliament, and Ukrainian society with a call to prevent the adoption of a new Civil Code of Ukraine in a version that creates systemic threats to freedom of speech, investigative journalism, the openness of public information, and citizens’ right to know the truth.
On April 28, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada supported draft law No. 15150—the draft of the new Civil Code of Ukraine—in its first reading. We recognize the importance of updating civil legislation.
However, the recodification of private law cannot take place at the expense of restricting fundamental freedoms, especially during a full-scale war, when independent journalism is part of the democratic resilience of the state.
Today, Ukrainian journalists work under unprecedented risks, under shelling, in frontline regions, and under pressure from various attacks, threats, and physical danger. They document Russia’s war crimes, expose corruption, scrutinize authorities, businesses, and public figures, and help society distinguish truth from manipulation. That is why the state must not narrow the space for journalism but instead guarantee its effective protection.
Instead, a number of provisions in the draft new Civil Code may create a dangerous “chilling effect.” Editorial offices, journalists, investigators, OSINT analysts, civil society activists, and whistleblowers may begin to avoid issues of public importance not because of a lack of evidence, but because of the risk of legal persecution.
Particular concern is raised by provisions that may:
- restrict investigative journalism through an excessively broad “right of reply,” even when the published information is accurate;
- create the risk of lawsuits over materials concerning individuals suspected of corruption or other offenses due to vague wording regarding the presumption of innocence;
- weaken protections for whistleblowers who report in good faith on possible acts of corruption;
- allow public figures to demand the removal of archival materials through a vague “right to be forgotten”;
- grant legal entities excessive rights to “digital privacy,” potentially complicating the use of open data, OSINT tools, and the verification of companies associated with corruption, sanctions-related, or Russian risks;
- restrict the publication of correspondence of legal entities that is of public importance, even when it reveals abuses;
- jeopardize the use of covert recording in investigative journalism;
- create the possibility of preventive court bans on materials even before their publication.
We particularly emphasize that this concerns society’s right to know who abuses power, who profits from the war, who cooperates with the aggressor state, who conceals conflicts of interest, who uses budget funds in a non-transparent manner, and who seeks to erase inconvenient facts from their public biography.
Journalism does not exist to serve the reputational needs of officials, politicians, businesses, or subjects of investigations. Its mission is to provide society with verified, important, and often uncomfortable information. A democratic state should not create a new legal arsenal for powerful and influential individuals to use against those who ask them difficult questions.
We call on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk to ensure a comprehensive, open, and inclusive revision of the draft new Civil Code with the participation of media organizations, human rights defenders, investigative journalists, experts on access to information, digital rights, and anti-corruption policy.
On Journalist’s Day, we remind everyone that freedom of speech is not a professional privilege for the media. It is the citizens’ right to hold power accountable, a safeguard against corruption, authoritarianism, and impunity. It is one of the key factors that distinguishes Ukraine from Russia.
Ukraine cannot fight for democracy on the battlefield while simultaneously weakening it through legislation.
We call on Members of Parliament to prevent the adoption of provisions that could force journalism into silence precisely when the country needs it most.
Media Movement
Institute of Mass Information (IMI)
ProMedia NGO
Lviv Media Forum
Detector Media NGO
Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy
Ukraïner NGO
Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law (CEDEM)
ZMINA Human Rights Center
“How Not to Become a Vegetable” Information Hygiene Initiative
For reference. The Media Movement is a community that brings together journalists from leading Ukrainian media, investigative journalists, and experts from media NGOs. Media Movement was launched on February 5, 2019.
The first signatories of the Media Movement Memorandum were UA: Pershyi, Ukrainian Radio, Hromadske Radio, Ukrinform, Interfax-Ukraine, Liga.net, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. Ukraine”, NV, ‘Censor.net’, Channel 5, ‘Ukrainian Week’, Opinion, several regional media, NGOs Independent Media Council, Detector Media, Institute of Mass Information, Internews Ukraine, Center for Democracy and Rule of Law, Souspilnist Foundation, National Association of Media, Donetsk Institute of Information, Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy, Zmina Human Rights Center.
The Movement was later joined by other organizations and individual journalists: more than 70 participants in total. On November 16, 2021, representatives of prominent media outlets called on journalists to unite in the professional community Media Movement to push back against political and commercial pressure on freedom of speech. The statement was initiated by 29 journalists and experts; their names are available here.
