Parliament to vote on Wikileaks-backed law that would protect sources, guarantee freedom of speech and end libel tourism

Iceland is aiming to become a global haven for investigative journalism, with the country's parliament expected to vote through legislation protecting sources, guaranteeing freedom of speech and ending libel tourism.

Supporters liken the initiative to the offshore financial havens that corporations use to avoid government tax regimes – only for free speech.

The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative is due to go before the country's parliament on Tuesday, according to Jonathan Stray – a blogger for Harvard University's Nieman Journalism Lab. And the people behind Wikileaks have been involved in drafting the law.

The text of the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative is not yet public, but Wikileaks' Julian Assange and Daniel Schmitt let the cat out of the bag at a conference in Berlin late last year.

About two minutes into this YouTube clip, Schmitt reveals that the Wiki guys got the ball rolling by pitching the free speech haven as a "new business model for Iceland" when they were guests on an Icelandic TV politics show.

Source: Nieman Journalism Lab