The IPI global network today calls on the Ukrainian parliament to remove elements from a new draft civil code that could undermine investigative reporting and weaken freedom of expression.
IPI also calls on the Ukrainian authorities to address concerns raised by Ukrainian civil society organisations as well as the Council of Europe around the bill, which would affect media rights, whistleblower protections, digital content and open-data rules.
The Ukrainian parliament adopted the draft code in a first reading on April 28, 2026. The government says the new law will modernise Ukrainian private law and align with EU standards as part of accession talks.
While IPI recognises the justification for the amending of the current framework, in its current form the bill contains a number of problematic elements that require reform. Ukrainian civil society organisations have and called for amendments.
Firstly, the bill would partially weaken legal protections for whistleblowers. Currently, whistleblowers who alert on alleged corruption are specifically protected from lawsuits demanding compensation for losses. However, in the current draft this exception is absent from the new civil code.
Secondly, the new text would introduce broad justifications for the application of the right to be forgotten, under the pretext of protecting digital privacy. In practice, according to Ukrainian civil society organizations, this would give individuals the right to demand the removal of archival journalistic work, under the pretext that it is no longer in the public interest. The definitions provided for the application of this right are currently unclear and need tightening, to limit the removal of legitimate public interest journalism.
Thirdly, the proposed bill would introduce 鈥減rivacy of correspondence鈥� as a broad concept applicable not only to individuals, but also private and public companies. Civil society groups have raised the alarm that these measures could seriously limit journalists鈥� right to access and publish confidential or private information of public interest, such as leaked documents. Privacy rules must be adequately balanced against public interest considerations, especially for watchdog reporting of issues like crime and corruption.
IPI also echoes concerns around provisions requiring consent for the use of an individual’s name or likeness. In practice, this could restrict journalists’ ability to use information from open-data platforms, which are important journalistic sources in Ukraine.聽
While Ukrainian lawmakers have justified the proposed restrictions on privacy grounds, the Council of Europe has noted that the rules are significantly stricter than European standards. In this context, IPI urges lawmakers to ensure strong public-interest exceptions in these and other provisions of the proposed code in order to protect legitimate investigative journalism and reporting on public figures.
As part of Ukraine鈥檚 ongoing European integration efforts, the country has recently made welcome steps forward in implementing the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive, as well as some elements of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). Plans to introduce a new civil code form part of recent efforts to modernise Ukrainian law.
IPI calls on Ukraine to ensure that the proposed civil code is narrowed and balanced where appropriate to sufficiently protect journalistic reporting and media freedom, and to ensure that the new legislation firmly aligns with EU and European standards on freedom of expression.