Other laws already limit criticism of the president, though that clause was removed from the new law.
"This isn't the first time they have applied pressure to the UN to limit criticism of their actions, especially in Yemen.
It's hard to escape the fact that the recently-passed Lobbying Act is an attempt by the coalition parties to limit criticism of unpopular policies ahead of the general election - while letting corporate lobbyists off the hook.
Determined not to repeat what it viewed as the mistakes of the Bush administration, the Obama administration limited criticism of Egypt to private conversations, and pointedly declined to publicly congratulate the government when it freed the jailed Mr. Nour, so as not to embarrass it.
Opposition sources said he often summoned journalists for "clarification" on their stories, and accused him of often resorting to blackmailing them to limit criticism of the regime.
* The White House can now control who can monitor its actions, and limit criticism through contract.
But as the vote nears, rights groups say officials have been cracking down on free speech in an effort to limit criticism against the government.
While there may be certain rules that all participants must adhere to (no nudity or violent threats, for example), government officials are theoretically not allowed to limit criticism or otherwise divergent viewpoints at such meetings.
Critics have accused the government of ramping up tactics against opposition parties as the election approaches, while groups like Human Rights Watch have accused officials of a growing cracking down on free speech in an effort to limit criticism against the government ahead of the polls.
No critic has ever been wiser about the limits of criticism, and about how few rules can ever be made for writing; Johnson is the model of a reactive critic, seeing when a piece of writing was made, and how it works, then and now.
