A Brazilian court has prohibited Diario de Pernambuco and Jornal do Commercio, two of the largest newspapers in the state of Pernambuco, from mentioning the name or show pictures of the president of the state’s Legislative Assembly, Guilherme Uchoa, news portal Terra reported. The decision also applies to Brazilian station TV Clube.
The Buenos Aires chapter of the organization Hacks/Hackers is a few days away from the beginning of its second Media Party, which in less than two years has become one of the biggest events on the continent for techie journalists and programmers interested in media.
As part of the peace negotations in Colombia, the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) asked last Friday for public financing to create their own media outlets, reported the news agency EFE.
Amid the massive protests spreading throughout Brazil -- sparked by an increase in bus fares -- the mass media coverage also has become a target of criticism.
Since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985, Brazil has been known as a free country regarding free speech and access to information. Although both rights are guaranteed in the Constitution of 1988, there is a disturbing distance between the words written on paper and their implementation in practice.
Ecuador's National Assembly approved on Friday, June 14, the country's new Communications Law. The law, backed by President Rafael Correa, had 108 votes in favor, reported Spanish daily El Mundo.
Following seven hours of debate, the city government of Buenos Aires on Thursday, May 30, passed legislation relating to the protection of press and civil liberties, AFP reported. The approved text states that "the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires guarantees the rights of all to freely search, express, receive and disseminate, through whichever manner they choose, information, opinions, ideas, and cultural demonstrations," AFP added.
The restriction of information by government officials, journalists' safety and the telecommunications bill in Honduras are the main concerns worrying a committee from the Inter American Press Society, IAPA, visiting the country since May 27.
Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico and Dominican Republic were the countries in the Americas with the most alerts on violations or possible threats against freedom of expression in 2012, according to Amnesty International's 2013 annual report on the state of human rights around the world.
Peruvian civil society organizations like Hiperderecho are organizing an online campaign to collect signatures demanding that the country's president establish clear, "non-negotiable" points during the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations with the United States and other Pacific nations that could affect Peruvians' access to the Internet, among other issues.