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Freedom of speech and freedom of the press 
are officially over in Portugal.

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Good morning. My name is António Abreu, Director 
of the online news station "Notícias Viriato"

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and today I'm doing a special live broadcast, 
something I've never done before, because 
the occasion demands as much.

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On the 8th of May 2021, three days ago, the 
 "Charter of Human Rights in the Digital 
Age" was promulgated

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which will intitutionalize, allow and legalize 
censorship in Portugal.

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Freendom of speech is at risk, because this 
law allows the Regulatory Authority and the 
State to define what is considered a false 
narrative

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and what is misinformation, thus creating 
legal mechanisms outside of the Courts, to 
prevent us from saying whatever we think.

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I ask you in advance to share this video 
with your friends and family on Facebook 
and other platforms before it is deleted 
and censored.

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Thank you very much.

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I'll start by reading the article we published 
yesterday in our online newstation website 
Notícias Viriato

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and I will briefly explain what is happening 
in Portugal, which was omitted and completely 
hidden from the Portuguese people

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without giving anyone the chance to discuss 
this idea or talk about this matter whatsoever.

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You may visit our website at www.noticiasviriato.pt 
and read the full article. Freedom of speech 
and press have officially ended in Portugal.

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The "Charter of Human Rights in the Digital 
Age" was approved by the Parliament on May 
8th 2021, with favorable votes by the

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PS (Socialist Party), PSD (Social-Democratic 
Party), BE (Left Wing), CDS (Social-Democratic 
Center Party), PAN (People, Animals & Nature)

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and the abstention of PCP (Portuguese Communist 
Party), PEV (Green Ecologist Party), CHEGA 
(Right Wing) and IL (Liberal Inniciative).

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This Charter establishes a new right to the 
protection against misinformation and that 
institutionalizes/legalizes censorship

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through a Regulatory Authority and not the 
Court, of single or collective people whom, 
I quote,"produce, reproduce or spread narratives

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that the State considers 'misinforming'."

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Along with this measure, the Government will 
support the creation of Fact Verification 
structures by media organizations

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and incentivate attribution of "quality seals" 
to the press that is considered "reliable".

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The 6th Article of this Charter comes following 
the "European Plan of Action Against Disinformation" 
and inserts in the Portuguese law an

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official definition of "disinformation" that 
did not previously exist.

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"It is considered disinformation, all the 
narrative that is proved to be false or misinforming 
and is created, presented or spread to obtain

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economic advantage or purposely mislead the 
people and is susceptible to causing public 
damage, namely threats to the democratic 
political

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procedures, public law creation procedures 
and public goods."

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This can be found on the 2nd point, 6th clause 
of the "Charter of Human Rights in the Digital 
Age"

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And "threat to public goods" is described 
in the European Plan of Action Against Disinformation 
as "false narratives regarding matters such 
as

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Health, Environment or Security. But I'd 
personally like to point out that when they 
talk about "threat to the democratic political 
procedures"

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it means that this piece of news that I published 
yesterday in our website, may soon be considered 
"misinforming" and a "false narrative"

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simply because it goes against the "official" 
narrative by the State. So you should all 
have the notion that when they talk about

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"false narrative" it all depends on their 
will and what the State, the European Union 
or the Regulatory Authority decide to consider 
false!

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This won't even go through a Court process 
to in fact prove if it is false or the truth! 
That is what this law is about.

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I'll continue reading our article, "according 
to the bill passed in May, the News Media 
Regulatory Authority will have it in its 
power to analyze"

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"and judge upon complaints filed against 
single and collective persons who spread 
false narratives in Social media and all 
of digital platforms,"

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"but they don't even justify and explain 
what would likely be the fines or convictions. 
On October 21st 2020, Regulatory Authority 
issued a"

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"legislative decision to this Charter's proposal 
by the Socialist and the People, Animals 
& Nature parties." So in this case, the

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Charter that was approved and promulgated 
by the President was a team project by the 
PS and PAN parties.

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Also, "the Regulatory Authority warned about 
the unjustified and disproportionate limitation 
of freedom of expression and questioned"

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"the criteria that was to be used for fact 
cheking. The Portuguese Press Association 
expressed their hesitation about the project 
due to"

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"the attribution of decisive power to the 
Regulatory Authority that is completely outside 
their specialty and the implementation of"

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"practices that may assume sensory contours. 
Other entities simply didn't argue about 
it or even showed their support, such as 
the"

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"Superior Council of Magistrates, DECO (consumers 
protection), National Lawyers Association 
and Superior Council of Public Ministry"

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"they didn't  point out any doubts about 
the clear limitation of freedom of expression 
present in this Charter."

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The Journalist's Union gave a contribution 
to the project, but in this case it was to 
legislate further, so that the News Media 
representatives

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must be part of the "combat" against misinformation. 
The Journalist's Union consider newstations 
like mine (which is even registered)

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to be "misinformative" and spreading of false 
narratives, so you can predict the future 
of our Notícias Viriato, very soon.

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"The Journalist's Union considers that the 
protection against misinformation was near 
non-existent and defends that the News Media

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representatives should be subordinate to 
this law. This suggestion was accepted and 
registered in the last version of the Charter,

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turning the News Media stations into part 
of the single and collective persons mentioned, 
thus obligating us to abide by this law as 
well.

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By the last lines of the 6th Article, it 
is described that the State will support 
the creation of Fact Checking structures 
by News stations

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and encourage the attribution of "quality 
seals" to the news stations considered "trustworthy".

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This means we have fact checkers like Poligrafo 
or Observador who work with Facebook and 
have it in their power to censor/delete things

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which was pretty much already happening, 
but it wasn't that well known, but now it 
was made official, and these fact checkers 
will officially

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one of the fighters in this "combat" against 
disinformation. And what's even worse, the 
attribution of "quality seals" to

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the press that THEY consider "trustworthy". 
So the people can't really choose anymore 
what they consider truth or not, but the 
State Inc.

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They're the ones deciding about what is reliable 
or unreliable information.

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The "Charter of Human Rights in the Digital 
Age" was approved by the PS, PSD, BE, CDS 
and PAN and the abstention of PCP, PEV, CHEGA

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and IL (Liberal Inniciative). Nobody voted 
against, it wasn't mentioned on the news, 
by the deputees, the government, the President, 
nothing!

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I was reading the promulgated laws on the 
daily registry and came across Article 6 
by chance, where I saw this "new right" in 
Portugal

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that should supposedly "protect" the people 
against disinformation.

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And I want to remind you all that the Constitution 
of the Portuguese Republic, on the 37th and 
38th articles, GRANTS us the right to

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freedom of speech and of the press and those 
rights can't be limited by, I quote, "any 
sort or shape of censorship and must secure 
the freedom

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and independence of the news media stations 
towards and regardless of the political authorities" 
and obviously this law goes against it.

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This was all done in secret and disregarding 
the People's opinion, without any debate, 
any public discussion,

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everyone's talking about the social fare 
for the internet, the immigrants in ZMar, 
about deputee Ventura calling outlaws to 
whoever,

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about Luís Filipe Vieira and the New Bank, 
about State Secretary João Galamba calling 
"shit" to an official Investigative News 
Program,

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while the Government, the President and several 
parties approved a law that limits our freedom 
of speech and press and will censor us!

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This is LITERALLY the institutionalization 
of censorship in Portugal.

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And this will prevent us... So whoever has 
a "wrong" narrative about the ZMar situation, 
Luís Vieira and New Bank, or citicizes the 
government

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or the Climate Change, or has a "wrong" narrative 
about Covid, they will all be condemned and 
prosecuted by the Regulatory Authority.

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We must have a notion and be aware of what's 
going on. This is very serious and dangerous. 
I've never even broadcasted like this but 
I

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really feel the obligation to because nobody 
is talking about this! I repeat, all deputies 
voted for this or abstained from voting which

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helped pass it, they all passed this Charter 
where the 6th Article is found, deciding 
about censorship and prosecution!

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Actually, I found somehting quite curious, 
because it looks very similar to this new 
law, which is Article 8th of the New State 
Constitution*

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[*during these 41 years, Portugal was under 
a Dictatorship] that stated "special" laws 
to regulate the freedom of the press and

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of thoughts, in which the censorship's function 
would be to prevent the "perversion and defiling" 
of the public opinion and should work

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towards protecting that public opinion from 
all factors that disorient it away from "truth, 
justice, morals, good administration and

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common well-being, avoiding the attack of 
basic principles of the organization of society. 
As you can see it resembles a lot the definition

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of "disinformation" of this new Charter, 
which considers it to be "all the narrative 
that is proved to be false or misinforming

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and is created, presented or spread to obtain 
economic advantage or purposely mislead the 
people and is susceptible to causing public

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damage, namely *threats to the democratic 
political procedures, public law creation 
procedures and public goods, like health, 
environment,

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and security*." As you can tell there's very 
interesting and clear similarities. And now 
what's going to happen is that this law was

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promulgated on May 8th 2021 and there's a 
60 day period before it starts legally being 
enforced, on July 8th 2021 this law will 
be in effect.

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Until then, we will presumably see new laws 
come out about the Regulatory Authority's 
new powers and attributions, about the exact 
mechanisms

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and the sanctions to be applied in this matter, 
but we have under 60 days, we have 57 days 
until this law enters in action. I'm saying 
this

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to you the readers, to other journalists, 
to the general public and all society, so 
that you have the notion that our speech, 
from July 8th

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2021, is no longer free. It was already crippled, 
but it will officially not be free anymore 
from that date.

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Because now intead of being hit by the usual 
censorship, we will be hit by a whole legal 
structure of fact checking or by the

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Regulatory Authority for Social Communication, 
just so you understand the gravity of this 
attack to our freedom and our constitution 
itself.

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So this is the video I wanted to make for 
you, you can read our news at www.noticiasviriato.pt 
and I would be so thankful to whoever shares

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this news article and this video, because 
this new law, this new "right to protection 
against misinformation" is what will officially 
install the

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censorship in Portugal. I don't even have 
words for this, nobody talked about this, 
nobody, this was all plotted in secret and 
against the People!

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Nobody mentioned it in the slightest. We 
were distracted with other insignificant 
things while this new bill was approved and 
promulgated.

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And the entities that exist to supposedly 
defend the People, showed their support towards 
this new type of censorship.

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So, dear followers, thank you for your time 
and attention, please share this livestream, 
share our article, contact your deputees, 
your

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associations and representatives, because 
this is very serious and the consequences 
of this to our freedom of expression and 
of press

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are terrible, we don't even know what sanctions 
are coming, fines, arrests, we don't know! 
But the law will allow all that and it is 
already

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framed in and part of the Portuguese Law 
system.

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So... this is what I had to warn you all 
about. Unfortunately this is where and how 
we live, there's no public debate, we only 
talk about

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what doesn't really matter while all this 
happens... and that's it.

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Dear readers, thank you very much, please 
help us independent journalists in Portugal, 
share these news, donate if you can.

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Thank you very much to all of you and see 
you soon.