Jamaica ranks among the countries that most respect freedom of information. The rare physical attacks on journalists must be offset against this, but no serious act of violence or threat to media freedom has been reported since February 2009, a month that saw two cases of abuse of authority by the Kingston police. While the law decriminalizing defamation passed by the House of Representatives in 2013 was a step in the right direction, RSF has expressed concerns with other pieces of legislation in recent years that could have a chilling effect on journalists, including the Data Protection Act in 2018 and the 2019 Criminal Justice and Administration Act. That legislation passed, creating a sharp increase in the fine for taking photographs outside courts from $20 to $1 million that was seen as retrograde at a time when greater access to information should be promoted not penalised. There was also concern this past year about the Prime Minister's claim that the media is not required to report facts, which sought to undermine the press.