Weaponising the Law: The Authoritarian Playbook in Action | Trust Conference 2025 | Day One

Laws, adopted under the guise of national security and financial transparency, are being abused by autocratic governments to cut off civil society organisations and independent media from their vital sources of funding. The archetypal example, that of the Russian-style ‘foreign agent law’, is now spreading like wildfire across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and South America. This session presents work conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation to map these trends and empower civil society and legal actors to collaborate in pushing back. Speaker: Kathryn Beck, Thomson Reuters Foundation About Trust Conference: Trust Conference is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s flagship annual event. Every year, Trust Conference brings together world-leading experts, innovators, and activists who are tackling global challenges at the intersection of media freedom, technology, law, and responsible business practices. Find out more on our website: https://tinyurl.com/trustconference