Blank front pages fight anti-press laws

To protest a bill aimed at curtailing press freedoms, three major Estonian dailies published blank front pages in their March 18 editions, [reports Postimees](http://www.postimees.ee/?id=238442 "reports the

Postimees"), which took part in the action. Three other publications joined the protest by printing a blank page inside their papers. Unanimously approved by the Estonian government, the bill will — among other measures —require journalists to reveal their sources when asked by authorities, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment. In addition, publishers who print defamatory information could be sanctioned, as in the UK. In 2009, Estonia still ranked sixth highest in terms of press freedom, Postimeesnotes. Its peer Eesti Päevalehtreports that press freedom has been increasingly rolled back by recently approved laws aimed ostensibly at protecting private individual data, archives and bills or laws before the Parliament, such as the very measures granting the authority to classify public documents as confidential.