17 October 2025
The Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Iraq (AEFI), sponsored by the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR), strongly condemns the recent actions of the Iraqi Media and Communications Commission (CMC), particularly its attempts to impose censorship on independent media institutions and its reported agreements with the digital platforms TikTok and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) to restrict or block the accounts of journalists and bloggers.
These measures constitute a clear violation of the Iraqi Constitution and Iraq’s international obligations under human rights law regarding freedom of expression. They reflect a systematic effort to silence independent voices, marking a dangerous regression from the democratic progress achieved since 2003.
AEFI reminds the authorities that Article 38 of the Iraqi Constitution clearly guarantees:
“The State shall guarantee, in a way that does not violate public order and morality, freedom of expression by all means, freedom of press, printing, advertisement, media, and publication.”
Any restriction of these rights must be imposed only through explicit legislation and an independent judicial decision, not through administrative decrees or secret agreements with foreign companies.
These practices also violate Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ratified by Iraq in 1971, which protects the right of every individual to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds without undue interference by public authorities.
AEFI considers the agreements reportedly concluded with foreign digital companies to remove or restrict media content within Iraq as an infringement on national sovereignty, given that these platforms are bound by international laws that prohibit granting governments direct access to user data or content removal powers without judicial authorization.
Turning these platforms into extensions of government censorship would create a suffocating digital environment, leading to prior restraint and state control over journalistic and editorial content, effectively ending independent media in Iraq.
If these policies persist, Iraq risks a sharp decline in global press freedom and internet freedom indices, placing state institutions in an embarrassing position before the international community and the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which closely monitors the situation of media freedoms in Iraq.
Targeting journalists and bloggers through blocking, intimidation, or the misuse of administrative regulations represents a return to authoritarian practices that Iraqis believed they had left behind. Digital censorship is a modern form of political repression, aimed at controlling public narratives, monopolizing truth, and silencing legitimate criticism — when the state’s role should be to protect freedom of expression, not suppress it.
AEFI Calls for Immediate Action
The Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Iraq (AEFI) calls upon Iraq’s three presidencies — the President of the Republic of Iraq, the Prime Minister, and the Speaker of Parliament — to take the following steps:
Immediately suspend the censorship measures enacted by the Iraqi Media and Communications Commission and revoke all agreements with international platforms that restrict freedom of publication and expression.
Ensure a safe and independent environment for journalists, bloggers, and media outlets to operate without threats, intimidation, or blocking, in full compliance with Iraq’s constitutional and international obligations.
Establish an independent investigative committee, including representatives from the judiciary and civil society organizations, to review the CMC’s recent actions and hold accountable those responsible for overstepping their authority.
Reinforce transparency and accountability in media regulatory institutions and reject any form of political interference or deviation from their professional mandate.
AEFI’s Commitment
AEFI reaffirms its commitment to documenting all violations against journalists and online activists and to pursuing legal and international accountability for those responsible.
The Alliance will also coordinate with its partners in the International Coalition for the Protection of Freedom of Expression and the Press to raise these violations with the UN Special Rapporteurs and the Human Rights Committee in Geneva, ensuring that such actions do not go unpunished.
Freedom of expression is not a privilege granted by the state, but a fundamental right enshrined in both the Iraqi Constitution and international human rights law. It remains the cornerstone of democracy and transparency, and its suppression threatens the very foundations of a free and just society.
About the Alliance
The Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Iraq (AEFI) is a coalition funded and coordinated by the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR).
It brings together over 100 organizations, media professionals, and individual advocates working across Iraq to promote and defend the right to freedom of expression, press freedom, and access to information.
