The Media and Defamation Bill came into immediate effect as from yesterday.

Criminal libels under the previous Media Bill are now a thing of the past, whilst the new Media and Defamation Bill provides more protection for journalists and the citizen journalist.

The process that led to the implementation of the new Bill took about four years, with due preparation, discussions, and widespread consultations both on a national level but also on an international level—an appropriate process that is expected to take place in all modern, participative, and openly democratic countries.

The government said that with this process, Malta closed the chapter on criminal libel and on various other criminal crimes, which were a burden on the freedom of expression and the full participation of the citizen in a democratic country.

Existing criminal libels were converted to civil suits.