Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa welcomed on Aug. 9, 2024 a court decision to overturn a regulator's decision to shutter the news website Rappler, describing it as "vindication after a tortuous eight years of harassment." The Court of Appeals, in a July 23 decision made public on the same day, had ruled the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) overstepped its authority in ordering Rappler's shutdown in 2018.Rappler's operating licence was rescinded in 2018 for violating foreign equity restrictions on media firms when it sold depositary rights to a US-based company. The SEC upheld its findings in 2022. Rappler was allowed to operate for the last six years despite the shutdown order.

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