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

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

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

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

which will intitutionalize, allow and legalize censorship in Portugal.

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

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

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.

Thank you very much.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

that the State considers 'misinforming'."

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

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

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

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

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

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

procedures, public law creation procedures and public goods."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

that should supposedly "protect" the people against disinformation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is LITERALLY the institutionalization of censorship in Portugal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

framed in and part of the Portuguese Law system.

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

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

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

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