The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI), proposed by whistleblowing website Wikileaks and Icelandic MPs, has been passed by the Icelandic parliament.

The IMMI calls for better laws in the country to protect journalists and their sources, which has the potential to create a haven for investigative journalists in Iceland.

The initiatiave also wants to challenge so-called “libel tourism” and change libel laws that threaten publishers, internet hosts and sites like Wikileaks that act as a “conduit” between source and journalist.

Two amendments were made to the original proposals, according to an email update from Wikileaks:

• That the government should perform a detailed analysis, especially with respect to operational security, for the prospect of operating data centres in Iceland;
• That the government should organise an international conference in Iceland regarding the changes to the legal environment being caused by expansion of cloud computing, data havens, and the judicial state of the internet.

Nieman Journalism Lab looks at what the IMMI means for journalists and how long it will take before the proposals become law.