Statutory right of reply by country

France

Article 13 of the law of 29 July 1881 on press freedom, in force in its current form since 1 January 2002, gives a reply to any person named or designated in a daily or periodical ¹. A daily must insert the reply within three days of receipt. A non-daily runs it in the issue published two days after receipt. In an election period the deadline for dailies falls to 24 hours ¹.

The reply may be as long as the original article. It may reach 50 lines whatever the article's length, and it may not exceed 200 lines. It is free. A director who fails to insert it faces a fine of €3,750. The action to force insertion lapses after three months from publication ¹. Article 13-1 lets associations exercise the right where a person or group is targeted for origin, membership or religion ¹.

Germany

In Germany the press reply, the Gegendarstellung, is set by each state's press law. Article 10 of the Bavarian Press Law lets a directly affected person or authority demand that the responsible editor and the publisher print a reply about facts reported in a newspaper or magazine ². The reply must identify the disputed passages, be limited to factual statements and be signed. It should not substantially exceed the length of the disputed text ².

The publication must print it without undue delay, in the same part of the publication and the same typeface, without insertions or omissions, and free of charge. Printing may be refused only if the reply has criminal content. The claim can be pursued in the civil courts ².

Spain

Spain's Organic Law 2/1984 of 26 March 1984 on the right of rectification lets any natural or legal person rectify inaccurate information about them that causes or could cause harm ³. The request goes to the outlet's director within seven calendar days of publication or broadcast. The outlet must publish the full rectification within three days, with similar prominence and no comments ³. If it does not, the person can sue within seven business days before the court of first instance, and a hearing is held within seven days ³.

A government bill to replace the 1984 law was published in the Cortes Generales gazette on 30 January 2026. It would extend rectification to digital media and to platform users with at least 100,000 followers on one platform or 200,000 across platforms. It proposes a ten-day request window in general and 20 days for digital media and those users ⁴. The bill was referred to the Justice Committee and is a proposal, not law ⁴.

European Union and Council of Europe

Article 28 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive requires member states to give a right of reply or equivalent remedy against television broadcasters for false statements of fact, with procedures that allow enough time and work for people in other member states ⁵. The Council of Europe's Resolution (74) 26 sets minimum rules for all media, including publication without undue delay and access to a tribunal ⁶.

United States

The US has no general statutory reply right against newspapers. On 25 June 1974 the Supreme Court held in Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo that Florida Statute section 104.38 violated the First Amendment ⁷. That statute had let a candidate whose character or record a newspaper attacked demand free publication of a reply of equal prominence and no greater length ⁷.