Press Freedom in Switzerland Slightly Improved Again
Switzerland ranks 12th out of 180 countries in the 2023 press freedom rankings currently published by Reporters without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF for short). It has thus improved slightly again.
Switzerland moves up two places from 14th to 12th in the 2023 World Press Freedom Ranking, which means it remains one of the countries where the situation can be described as "fairly good," but not one of the eight countries where the
freedom of information is best protected and the situation is "good".
This slight improvement is primarily due to the end of the Corona measures. They had led to an unprecedented rise in verbal hostility against the media, for example at demonstrations by "opponents of the measures," and sometimes to physical attacks on media professionals. This had contributed to Switzerland's fall from 10th to 14th place last year.
Worse than before the pandemic
However, the end of the Corona measures did not result in Switzerland regaining the position it had previously occupied. The indicator measuring the quality of the legal environment deteriorated further, with Switzerland slipping from 29th to 37th place in this area. One of the reasons for this was the federal parliament's approval of a tightening of the so-called "precautionary measures" that can be imposed by civil courts against the media, RSF informs. Parliament's decision would also have an impact on the indicator that measures whether the political environment is conducive or obstructive to freedom of information.
In the area of "legal framework," Article 47 of the Banking Act also contributed to Switzerland's lower ranking. This provision can be applied to media professionals when they use data from illegally obtained leaks for their research. On this point, RSF Switzerland was pleased to note that the National Council passed a motion in February this year calling on the Federal Council to examine the compatibility of this provision with press freedom.
The economic situation of the Swiss media remains difficult. Even though it has improved slightly with the end of the Corona crisis, it also influences Switzerland's ranking. For RSF Switzerland, the diversity of the media landscape is a component of press freedom. With the rejection of support measures for the media sector in the February 2022 referendum, the question of financial support for the media offering at the federal level remains unresolved.
