French ‘fake news’ law ups fears over loss of free speech

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to introduce a law against “fake news” by the end of 2018. But critics are voicing concerns over what they see as potential infringement on the freedom of expression.

Mr. Macron’s proposal, announced last week, would add France to a growing list of European countries that have taken official action against disinformation online. A similar German law went into effect Jan. 1, and the Czech Republic established an anti-fake-news task force a year ago.

Although its specific contents have yet to be released, Mr. Macron’s law would grant judges emergency powers to remove or block certain content deemed to be “fake” during sensitive election periods. It would also require greater transparency for sponsored content and permit France’s media watchdog, the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel, to combat “any attempt at destabilization” by foreignfinanced media organizations.

Skeptics quickly pounced. “The first question is: What is fake news? Who will define it?” said Daniel Schneidermann, a media columnist for the French newspaper Libération and the director of “Arrêt sur Images” (Freeze Frame), a leading online venue for media criticism in France.

VP to lead Olympic team

WASHINGTON— Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, will lead the U.S. delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The White House said Wednesday that Mr. Pence will attend the opening ceremonies of the games, scheduled for Feb. 9 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Mr. Pence will hold meetings with leaders in Seoul and Tokyo, where he will stress the U.S. commitment to stability in the region. The vice president is also scheduled to stop in Alaska to review intercontinental ballistic missile defense systems.

Economic sanctions relief

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump is expected this week to extend relief from economic sanctions to Iran as part of the nuclear deal, citing progress in amending U.S. legislation that governs Washington’s participation in the landmark accord, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the administration’s deliberations.

However, Mr. Trump plans to again refuse to certify to Congress that the Iranian nuclear disarmament deal is in America’s best interest — but will stop short of reimposing energy sanctions that could kill the landmark accord, according to a U.S. official involved in the process and a person familiar with the deliberations. Mr. Trump is likely to pair his decision to renew the concessions to Tehran with new, targeted sanctions on Iranian businesses and people, the six people briefed on the matter said.

The White House is expected to announce the president’s decision, which still could change, on Friday.

Japanese-U.S. safety

HONOLULU— Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera urged the U.S. military to safely operate its helicopters in Japan during his meeting with Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, at the command headquarters in Hawaii on Tuesday morning.

They discussed a recent series of problems and accidents caused by helicopters belonging to the U.S. forces stationed in Japan.