Editing Defamation (section)

====Global====
As of 2017, at least 130 UNESCO member states retained criminal defamation laws. In 2017, the [[OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media]] issued a report<ref name="OSCE Report 2017"/> on criminal defamation and anti-blasphemy laws among its member states, which found that defamation was criminalized in nearly three-quarters (42) of the 57 OSCE participating states. Many of the laws pertaining to defamation included specific provisions with harsher punishments for speech or publications critical of heads of state, public officials, state bodies, and the state itself. The report noted that blasphemy and religious insult laws existed in around one third of OSCE participating states; many of these combined blasphemy and/or religious insult with elements of hate speech legislation. A number of countries continued to include harsh punishments for blasphemy and religious insult.<ref name="UNESCO Global Report 2018"/>

Countries in every region extended criminal defamation legislation to online content. [[Cybercrime]] and [[anti-terrorism laws]] passed throughout the world; [[bloggers]] appeared before courts, with some serving time in prison. Technological advancements strengthened governments' abilities to monitor online content.<ref name="UNESCO Global Report 2018"/>