Government officials closed down a radio station and confiscated the equipment on Wednesday, Sep. 18, in the city of Guayaquil (southeast of the nation), informed news agency AFP. According to the Supervisor of Telecommunications, Supertel, the closure was due to the station operating illegally, reported AFP.
The Information Crimes Law, also being called "Beingolea Law" after Congressman Alberto Beingolea or "Frankenstein anti internet law" by some of its opponents, was approved almost by unanimity on Peru's Congress on Sep. 12 amid concerns over its possible effects on online privacy and freedom of expression.
Uruguay is the most recent country to propose a comprehensive media law to update for the 21st century the norms and regulations overseeing its communications. In May, President José Alberto “Pepé” Mujica sent the proposed bill to the Uruguayan legislature. The Senate is expected to vote on it by the end of the year.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced last week the creation of ‘El Noticiero de la Verdad’ ("The Truth Newscast"), news agency EFE reported. Private and state media outlets will be required to run the new government radio and TV broadcast twice a day.
After Venezuela's withdrawal from the American Convention on Human Rights on Sep. 10, Venezuelans are now unable to take cases pertaining to freedom of expression violations, among others, to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, said Ariel E. Dulitzky, former assistant executive secretary at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and a leading expert in the inter-American human rights system, in a recent interview with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.
Four Mexican photojournalists reported being victims of police abuse while covering teacher manifestations on Saturday in the state of Veracruz (east of the country), informed Reporters Without Borders. According to the RWB report, agents of the Ministry of Public Safety beat the journalists and took their equipment.
The role of journalists as guardians of democracy faces more dangers each and every day due to an increase in organized crime and government repression and corruption in the Western Hemisphere, said Carlos Lauría, the Senior Americas Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in front of the US House of Representatives Thursday.
The Ecuadorian government has proposed penalizing individuals who express opinions that could be considered defamatory on social media, freedom of expression non-profit Fundamedios reported.
The Regional Alliance for Freedom of Expression and Information, a coalition of several organizations from 19 countries in Latin America and the U.S., wrote an open letter to senators and other Uruguayan officials expressing its concern over a series of proposed amendments to the country's Law on Public Access of Information. According to the group, the proposed changes are "regressive" in nature and could significantly limit citizens' access to government information.
Journalist Antônio Fabiano Portilho Coene, the owner of news Portal i9 was kidnapped on Monday Sept. 9 by armed men in the city of Campo Grande in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, website Diario do Estado informed.
As Brazil begins its investigation into claims that the U.S. spied on the communications of President Dilma Rousseff, Brazilian lawmakers are seeking federal protection for journalist Glenn Greenwald and his partner David Miranda, RT.com reported. Legislators say Greenwald and Miranda need to be protected due to the importance of their testimony on the probe.
The Brazilian Association for Investigative Journalism (Abraji in Portuguese) registered 21 cases of violations against 20 journalists during the protests on Saturday, Sept. 7. Police agents were behind 85% of the attacks -- or 18 cases -- most of which involved the use of pepper spray. The number may increase as more cases are confirmed.