Government to Approve Bill Imposing 2-4 Years of Imprisonment for Spreading Fake News Online

The government will today approve a package of bills related to amendments in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, the Law on Mass Media, and the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia under non-reporting issues.

The proposed legislation includes a new Article 226.3 in the criminal code, which outlines penalties for knowingly publishing false information related to matters of public interest using anonymous sources online.

The executive branch plans to set fines ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 dram for such actions. If the false information is disseminated for profit and involves five or more anonymous sources, as well as the use of administrative resources, fines could increase to between 1 to 2 million dram.

The same article also states that if the false information is published by an organized group, the perpetrators could face imprisonment of 2 to 4 years.

Similar regulations are proposed for the dissemination of false information regarding political parties (党派) or candidates participating in elections.