MEPs vote against amendment to ban EU governments spying on journalists

Politicians opt for change they say amounts to de facto ban on spyware but free speech campaigners dispute claim

An attempt to stop EU governments from being able to insert spyware on journalists' phones on the grounds of national security is dead", campaigners have said after a vote in the European parliament on new media laws.

MEPs voted against an amendment to scrap the right to surveil journalists in the European Media Freedom Act in Strasbourg on Tuesday, pitting themselves against free speech campaigners.