Law Library of Congress Report on Censorship

The Law Library of Congress in Washington has published a new report about Book and Media Censorship in Selected Countries:

"The following report provides brief overviews of the treatment of these concepts, with a lens on book and media bans, in 22 different countries. The report covers the primary laws related to censorship, and when available or relevant, includes notable cases and other instances of book or media censorship. Countries were chosen to represent major regions of the world and include countries from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Brazil, China, Cuba, Germany, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, The Gambia, Georgia, Israel, India, Kenya, Liberia, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Malawi, Trinidad and Tobago, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Vietnam are included in the study. This selection was based on a finding that these jurisdictions had laws aimed at censorship or expression based on historical, cultural, and political traditions."

"Each country has either constitutional or legislative protections in place for freedom of speech, however, many of the surveyed countries also have legislation to regulate matters such as obscenity and incitement. Most countries also contain exceptions for censorship of materials. In some countries, censorship is targeted more toward materials that may fall into the hands of children. Countries such as Malawi and Trinidad and Tobago limit materials that may be targeted toward children. Some countries have restrictions based on national security concerns, such as Israel, Russia, and Uzbekistan."

"Some countries have restrictions based on language that speaks against the government. China, Cuba, Egypt, and Vietnam have laws with provisions against materials that could be construed as critical of the government. Egypt also has laws pertaining to materials that are adverse to Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. Some countries have more severe criminal penalties for distribution of materials. In The Gambia, trafficking in obscene publications is a felony criminal act. Some countries have seen recent changes in law regarding censorship and media bans. In India, old British colonial laws regarding censorship were replaced by provisions in recently enacted criminal procedure and penal codes, and in France, laws that totally prohibit certain books or media have been repealed, although courts can restrict the distribution of a book on a case-bycase basis if it is deemed contrary to French law."

The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2 and a half million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Over the years, it has published dozens of comparative law reports which are a treasure trove for legal research on a huge variety of issues.