“Proposed amendments to the Law on Freedom of Expression are aimed at restoring justice,” stated Archil Gorduladze, Chair of the Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee.

According to Gorduladze, the current legislation, enacted in 2004, is commonly known as the Bokeria-Ramishvili law.

“Under this law, an individual must assert that any information published against them is false and baseless. It’s better late than never. We have drafted amendments stipulating that, if an individual publishes false information about another person, they will bear the burden of proving its accuracy.

When individuals, often funded or influenced, spread lies that undermine human rights and invoke specific legal provisions, this draft represents a step toward justice. In simple terms, under the new regulations, the individual making the claim will no longer be required to prove that the information against them is false; instead, the responsibility will shift to the accuser to substantiate the truthfulness of their statements.

Regarding sources, revealing the origin of the information will not be mandatory. However, a person would not be able to merely assert that the false information originated from a source and therefore is true. Asserting that the information was sourced from someone will not automatically serve as proof of its accuracy,” he explained.