The Chilean government announced that it will withdraw the "Hinzpeter Bill," a proposal that would have permitted authorities to demand media companies turn over their archives to the police without a warrant, reported ANSA.
The controversial bill was introduced in September 2011 by Minister of the Interior Rodrigo Hinzpeter, and was part of the "Bill to Fortify the Protection of Public Order," explained Prensa Latina.
In a letter addressed to 120 representatives, the Chilean Union of Journalists said that the bill "violates public liberties, liberty of expression and public protest, both recognized internationally and by the Chilean State as fundamental rights."
According to the Paraguayan newspaper ABC, the Journalists Circle of Santiago considered the bill "the worst attack on the free practice of journalism since the installation of democracy in 1990."
