Editing Defamation (section)

====Global====
As of 2012, defamation, slander, insult and [[lese-majesty]] laws, existed across the world. According to [[ARTICLE 19]], 174 countries retained criminal penalties for defamation, with full [[decriminalization]] in 21 countries. The [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE) had an ongoing decriminalization campaign. [[UNESCO]] also provided technical assistance to governments on revising legislation, to align with international standards and best practices.<ref name="UNESCO Global Report 2014"/>

The use of civil defamation increased, often in lieu of criminal cases, resulting in disproportionate [[fine (penalty)|fines]] and [[damages]], particularly against media and journalists critical of governments. [[Libel tourism]] enabled powerful individuals to limit critical and dissenting voices by shopping around the world for the [[jurisdiction]]s most likely to approve their defamation suits.<ref name="UNESCO Global Report 2014"/>

As of 2011, 47% of countries had laws against blasphemy, [[apostasy]] or [[defamation of religion]]. According to the [[Pew Research Center]], 32 had laws or policies prohibiting blasphemy, and 87 had defamation of religion laws.<ref name="UNESCO Global Report 2014"/>

The [[legal liability]] of [[internet intermediary|internet intermediaries]] gained increasing importance. Private companies could be held responsible for [[user-generated content]] that was made accessible through their servers or services, if it was deemed illegal or harmful. Due to uncertain takedown procedures and the lack of legal resources, intermediaries sometimes were excessively compliant with [[takedown notice]]s, often outside the [[legal system]] and with little [[legal recourse|recourse]] for the affected content producer. Intermediaries were at times held criminally liable for content posted by a user, when others perceived it violated [[privacy law|privacy]] or defamation laws. Such cases indicated an emerging trend of [[collateral censorship|preventive censorship]], where companies conducted their own monitoring and filtering to avoid possible repercussions. This contributed to a process of privatized censorship, where some governments may rely on [[private-sector]] companies to regulate online content, outside of electoral accountability and without [[due process]].<ref name="UNESCO Global Report 2014"/>

Debate around defamation of religions, and how this impacts the right to free expression, continued to be an issue at a global level. In 2006, UNESCO's executive board adopted a decision on "Respect for freedom of expression and respect for [[sacred]] [[faith|belief]]s and values and [[religious symbol|religious]] and [[cultural icon|cultural]] symbols". In 2011, the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]] made further calls for strengthening [[religious tolerance]] and preventing [[hate speech]]. Similar resolutions were made in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, 87 governments agreed on the Rabat Plan of Action, for the prohibition of incitement to hatred.<ref name="UNESCO Global Report 2014"/>