An Ecuadorian newspaper was fined $500 for publishing photographs of underage children with President Rafael Correa, reported the Press and Society Institute (IPYS in Spanish). The judge for Children and Adolescents fined the director of the newspaper El Universo, Carlos Pérez Barriga, on Oct. 2, according to IPYS.
El Universo published the offending photograph in an Aug. 12 article titled, "In Cardondelet, Rafael Correa posed with the son and grandchildren of Abdalá Bucaram."
Days after the publication, the National Council for Children and Adolescents filed a complaint against the newspaper and the parents of the children for "the use of the children's image in a clearly political context, infringing on and threatening their rights," according to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange network (IFEX). The complaint was based on item 2 of article 52 of the current Children and Adolescents Code, which states the prohibition "of using children or adolescents in political or religious proselytizing programs or spectacles," reported IFEX on its website.
Along with the fine, the judge ruled that the newspaper should not publish images of minors "regardless of the rights to the image, good name and the approval of the family," said the newspaper El Unvierso. The judge also banned the reproduction of the ruling in any media under penalty of issuing protective measures ex officio, added the newspaper.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
