The situation of journalists and press freedom is still a source of concern in Belgium. During a Black Lives Matter protest in Brussels, police manhandled, threatened and detained photo-journalist Jérémy Audouard although he showed them his press ID. The police internal affairs department opened an investigation into the incident after it caused an outcry because Belgian law allows any citizen or journalist to photograph or film the police and disseminate the images. In December 2020, several leading Belgian media outlets and telecom companies announced the creation of a joint system for managing advertising with the aim of combatting Facebook and Google domination in this sector. Some politicians continue to show concern about press freedom. The Walloon regional parliament passed a resolution calling on the Walloon government to explicitly condemn arbitrary arrests of journalists and other press freedom violations.
Belgium
