Skip to content
High Severity

Government as Judge and Prosecutor

This provision allows the government to pursue misinformation claims against critics through a Division whose Director is appointed by the President (14), creating a structural conflict where government-aligned officials make initial determinations about whether criticism of government is false. While safeguards exist—government cannot enforce claims about the ruling party or based solely on insults to officials, and bears the burden of proof—these do not address the institutional design flaw. Combined with the broad "public interest" categories in 25 (protecting "public trust," "public welfare," preventing "diminution of public confidence"), this creates uncertainty about what government-critical speech is permissible, encouraging self-censorship. Judicial review is available only after administrative proceedings (60), meaning the government-controlled body decides first.