Although Guyana’s constitution guarantees free speech and the right to information, officials often use various pieces of legislation—including defamation laws, which provide for fines and up to two years in jail—to silence opposition journalists. A cybercrime bill that was passed into law in July 2018 took into account amendments RSF proposed regarding provisions that could have posed a threat to press freedom if used to penalize journalists for publishing reports deemed critical of the government or that are based on information from confidential sources. However the bill remains imperfect. The members of the media regulatory authority are appointed directly by the president. This restricts the freedom of certain media outlets, which are denied licenses. Recent attempts to improve regulation of the broadcast industry involved no consultation with any broadcasters. Journalists are still subjected to harassment that takes the form of prosecutions, suspensions, and intimidation.