World Press Freedom Index 2017 Finds Democracies Are Clamping Down

AKIPRESS.COM - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has warned that press freedom is under attack.

In its latest World Press Freedom Index, the annual report criticizes Germany for laws on data retention and against whistleblowers.Press freedom deteriorated in two thirds of the world's countries, according to the Press Freedom Report published on Wednesday by Reporters Without Borders (RSF.

)"The rate at which democracies are approaching the tipping point is alarming for all those who understand that, if media freedom is not secure, then none of the other freedoms can be guaranteed," RSF Secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.RSF, the non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Paris, has consultant status at the United Nations.

Itinvestigated freedom of media and journalists in 180 countries and found democracies, as well as dictatorships, had increasingly clamped down on press freedom.Researchers found that high-level politicians had used their power to quash media reports - a trend which was particularly frightening, according to Michael Rediske, Chief Executive of the group.

One prominent example was Finland's Prime...