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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Lisa O'Carroll Brussels correspondent

Draft EU plans to allow spying on journalists are dangerous, warn critics

The building of European Parliament in Strasbourg
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has called on the European parliament to ‘save’ the bill. Photograph: Vlastimil Šestak/Alamy

Draft legislation published by EU leaders that would allow national security agencies to spy on journalists has been condemned by media and civic society groups as dangerous and described by a leading MEP as “incomprehensible”.

On Wednesday, the European Council – which represents the governments of EU member states – published a draft of the European Media Freedom Act that would allow spyware to be placed on journalists’ phones if a national government thought it necessary.

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