ANEM demands an urgent response from the authorities regarding the shutdown of the media's Instagram account.

Today, around 11:30 AM, the Instagram accounts of the portal Nova.rs (nova.rs_portal, nova.rs_show, and nova.rs_sport), as well as the personal account of the administrator of the mentioned profiles, were temporarily suspended, while the Instagram account of the portal Radar was permanently suspended.

Given that these events were preceded by a sudden increase in the number of bot followers on both accounts, we believe this to be a coordinated action aimed at silencing the profiles of independent and professional media. In addition to Nova.rs and Radar, the profiles of the media Autonomija and VOICE from Novi Sad, as well as the profile of freelance photographer Gavrilo Andrić, were also attacked and suspended. The accounts of the non-governmental organizations CRTA and Osnažene were also targeted.

The accounts were suspended without any further explanation, other than a general statement regarding a "violation of community standards and terms." Representatives of Nova.rs contacted Meta's support, after which the main profile of Nova.rs was restored within five minutes, once the identity of the administrator was confirmed. The sports profile is still undergoing the appeals process, while, according to information obtained from representatives of Meta, the profiles of Radar and Nova Show have been permanently deleted from the system, with the explanation that they "cannot do anything" regarding this matter.

Particular concern arises regarding the actions of Meta, noting that all mentioned profiles had a "green status" the previous evening (green, orange, and red colors represent internal status indicators for profiles that alert administrators to potential violations of platform rules). Additionally, the editorial teams and administrators did not receive any prior warning before the accounts were disabled, even though this should be standard practice according to platform rules, which require the specification of the exact rules allegedly violated and a timeframe for rectifying the irregularities.

We reported the "bot attacks" on January 13, stating that it is evidently a coordinated digital assault on independent media, reminiscent of DoS or DDoS attacks, which could fall under Article 299 of the Criminal Code – Computer Sabotage:

"Whoever enters, destroys, deletes, alters, damages, conceals, or otherwise renders unusable a computer data or program, or destroys or damages a computer or other device for electronic processing and transmission of data with the intent to disable or significantly disrupt the process of electronic processing and transmission of data that is significant for state authorities, public services, institutions, enterprises, or other entities, shall be punished by imprisonment for six months to five years."

Article 303 of the same law states that "whoever unlawfully prevents or obstructs access to a public computer network shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for up to one year."

"We expect such attacks to continue and escalate, and we demand an urgent response from the relevant authorities to prevent the shutdown of Instagram accounts and communication channels of professional media, which are already exposed to targeting, smear campaigns, threats, and physical attacks. We urge the authorities to investigate who is behind these mass and intensive 'bot attacks,' which represent a direct assault on media freedoms, and to identify and sanction those responsible. We also request the prosecution to communicate with Meta regarding the fact that these attacks are occurring, as well as the necessity to sanction the attackers, not the victims – in this case, professional media and photojournalists," stated Veran Matić.

Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)

The project "System for Violence Prevention and Journalist Protection" is being implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insajder TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union.

The OSCE Mission in Serbia supported ANEM's project "24/7 SOS Hotline for Assistance to Journalists and Other At-Risk Media Workers," within the EU-funded project "Strengthening Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Serbia."