COVID-19/Legislation

COVID-19/Legislation (legislation)
Interest of	Westminster Foundation For Democracy

Many nation states have passed legislation with a titular connection to the coronavirus. Generally this circumvents existing legal restrictions or civil liberties for the "national interest" of slowing virus transmission rates.

Hungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán passed a “coronavirus” law passed, "allowing him rule by decree during the state of emergency for an indefinite period." The legislation includes a provision for sentences of up to five years in prison for spreading "fake news". Reporters Without Borders stated that "in reality it is the government that can, at the outset, arbitrarily decide whether a media report is true or false."

UK

Although the UK government stated that "As of 19 March 2020, COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious diseases (HCID) in the UK", the 329 page 2020 Coronavirus Bill was introduced to parliament on 22 March and made law on 25 March. Silkie Carlo, termed it "the greatest loss of liberty in our history".

Purposes

Many nation states used cellphone data to track citizens. By early April 2020 this included Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Israel, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the US. Poland offered people in quarantine a choice: "either receive unexpected visits from the police, or download this app".

 

Examples

Page name	Description
Face mask	From an obscure phenomenon, face masks became a central part of the COVID-19 psychological operation starting in March 2020.
Online Safety Bill	Proposed piece of landmark legislation which will enable internet censorship in Great Britain
PCSC Bill	UK law

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