Closed petition: Introduce a cooling off period for public access to sensitive court documents

Closed on 21 May 2026

Set a legal minimum cooling off period for sensitive information used in court, so families impacted by serious crimes aren't retraumatized for media profit shortly after crimes & court cases.

As little as a few months after sentencing, and against the families wishes, media studios can create content based on the case. We believe the rules on access to public court records should protect families from premature exposure. Those responsible for crimes may seek recognition, and we feel the media can give them exactly that. We want to stop this from happening and to protect families in these circumstances.