Norwegian authorities have finalized a draft of criminal sanctions for the crime of assisting in dangerously influencing public opinion from abroad. This is stated in Press release Norwegian government.
According to the report, the country’s authorities proposed criminalizing the facilitation of public influence operations carried out by foreign intelligence services that could harm the interests of the state.
As Norwegian Minister of Justice and Public Security Emilie Enger Mehl noted, the government knows that authoritarian states may try to influence the country in their own interests. According to him, such states may spread fake news to undermine people’s trust in the press, government officials, or other important social institutions.
It is stated that the original version of the bill was criticized by advisory bodies for using vague language that could negatively affect freedom of expression. As the government stated, officials took the comments seriously and clarified the provisions of the document.
According to the press release, the Norwegian Security Service (PST) will be given the authority to use “covert enforcement tools” to more effectively detect and prevent foreign influence operations.
Norwegian Security Service in October 2023 detained A man suspected of spying for the Russian Federation in the city of Tromso. The prisoner was assumed to be Brazilian, but later accepted He has Russian citizenship.
The 45-year-old man is accused of harming Norway’s core national interests as well as the security interests of other states. The Norwegian court could sentence him to three years in prison.
Formerly US Secretary of State statedThat Russia and China currently pose “the most serious threat to world order” on the planet.