49. 委员会感到关切的是，一些法律和做法似乎不符合《公约》要求的法律确定性、必要性和相称性原则，严重限制了意见和表达自由，包括：(a) 限制互联网言论，例如 2018 年 6 月通过了《大众传媒法》修正案，将国家控制范围扩大到在线媒体机构，除其他外，执行了官方在线媒体机构登记程序，规定新闻门户网站有义务强制识别网站访问者；(b) 行政部门有权利关闭媒体机构，并广泛对媒体机构使用警告，这种做法对言论自由产生了寒蝉效应；(c) 《大众传媒法》第 38 条范围宽泛，规定了禁止在大众传媒中传播哪些信息，特别是来自未登记组织的信息和“损害国家利益”的信息；(d) 法律禁止损害高级级别官员名誉和尊严的信息，包括诽谤白俄罗斯总统(《刑法》第 367 条)和诽谤白俄罗斯将承担刑事责任，规定以下行为将承担责任：故意向外国及外国组织或国际组织提供关于白俄罗斯政治、经济、社会、军事或国际地位或白俄罗斯公民法律地位的虚假信息，从而损害白俄罗斯或其当局的形象；(e) 为未经认可的外国新闻机构工作的记者据称遭到骚扰和迫害；(f) 人权维护者、律师和记者据称因其活动而被任意禁止旅行(第十二、第十七和第十九条)。
49. The Committee is concerned about laws and practices that do not appear to comply with the principles of legal certainty, necessity and proportionality as required by the Covenant, and that severely restrict freedom of opinion and expression, including: (a) Restrictions on Internet-based expression such as the amendments to the Mass Media Act adopted in June 2018, which extend State control to online media outlets and introduce, inter alia, a procedure for registering as official online media outlets and an obligation for news portals to implement mandatory identification of website visitors; (b) The power of the executive to shut down media outlets and the extensive practice of using warnings to media outlets, which has a chilling effect on freedom of expression; (c) The broadly formulated provision of article 38 of the Mass Media Act defining which information it is forbidden to distribute among the mass media, especially information from non-registered organizations and information “harming the national interest”; (d) Laws prohibiting information that harms the honour and dignity of high-ranking officials, including criminal responsibility for defamation of the President of Belarus (article 367 of the Criminal Code) and for defamation of Belarus, or that establishes liability for knowingly providing a foreign State or a foreign or international organization with false information on the political, economic, social, military or international status of Belarus or the legal status of citizens in Belarus that damages the image of Belarus or its authorities; (e) The reported harassment and persecution of journalists working for foreign, unaccredited news outlets; (f) Arbitrary travel bans reportedly imposed on human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists in connection with their activities (arts. 12, 17 and 19).