Censorship in Tunisia has been an issue since the country gained independence in 1956. Though considered relatively mild under President Habib Bourguiba (1957–1987), censorship and other forms of repression became common under his successor, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (November 1987 – January 2011). Ben Ali was listed as one of the "10 Worst Enemies of the Press" by the Committee to Protect Journalists starting in 1998. Reporters Without Borders named Ben Ali as a leading "Predator of Press Freedom". However, the Tunisia Monitoring Group reports that the situation with respect to censorship has improved dramatically since the overthrow of Ben Ali in early 2011.
Ben Ali era: Legal provisions
Article 8 of the Tunisian Constitution states "the liberties of opinion, expression, the press, publication, assembly, and association are guaranteed and exercised within the conditions defined by the law." Article 1 of the Press Code provides for "freedom of the press, publishing, printing, distributing and sale of books and publications."
The main reference for the information in this section is the "IFLA/FAIFE Report on IFEX-TMG Mission to Tunis".
Books
The Press Code requires a receipt from the Ministry of the Interior before distributing books in the country. Islam and human rights are two frequent points of contention. Frequently banned authors include Mohamed Talbi, Hamma Hammami, Sihem Bensedrine, Moncef Marzouki, and Taoufik Ben Brik. The League of Free Writers believes that 40 books were censored in the decade 1995–2005.
Tunisia has 380 public libraries, which include a regional branch for each of the 23 regions and a National Library in Tunis. It is estimated that 200–300 new titles for adults are published each year. The National Library has depository rights to four copies of each work published in the country.
Newspapers
All major newspapers essentially follow the government line and tend to report uncritically on the activities of the President. Certain editions of foreign—principally French—newspapers that criticise the human rights situation or alleged electoral fraud, such as Le Monde, Libération, La Croix, Le Figaro are often banned or censored, when they publish articles unfriendly to the Tunisian regime. Charlie Hebdo and Le Canard enchaîné, both satirical newspapers, are banned on a permanent basis. In order to avoid accusations of censorship, Ben Ali's regime authorized only a very limited number of editions of foreign newspapers.
Some banned editions are available "behind the counter" at libraries and must be requested. Twelve editions of Le Monde have been censored since 2006 according to RSF. Libération was censored in February 2007 following the publication of an article by Taoufik Ben Brik; it was the first time since 1992 that Tunis had censored it.
Television
The state exercises a monopoly on domestic television transmissions, although satellite dishes are popular and offer access to foreign broadcasts.
Radio
There is a small number of private radio stations, but they do not independently report news. A permit is required to establish a radio station. Electoral endorsements of candidates are not permitted in the private media.
Internet
Internet censorship in Tunisia significantly decreased in January 2011, following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as the new acting government: proclaimed complete freedom of information and expression as a fundamental principle, abolished the information ministry, and removed filters on social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube. Some Internet censorship reemerged when in May 2011: the Permanent Military Tribunal of Tunis ordered four Facebook pages blocked for attempting "to damage the reputation of the military institution and, its leaders, by the publishing of video clips and, the circulation of comments and, articles that aim to destabilize the trust of citizens in the national army, and spread disorder and chaos in the country", and a court ordered the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) to block porn sites on the grounds that they posed a threat to minors and Muslim values.
In 2012 the OpenNet Initiative found no evidence of Internet filtering in the political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools areas. Tunisia is listed as "Under Surveillance" by Reporters Without Borders in 2011.