The controversy generated in Panama by the regulation of a law that gives the executive branch of government the power to impose fines on the media may have arrived at a solution after a meeting between the government and media representatives.
Ecuador’s Communication Law (LOC for its acronym in Spanish) was the subject of a recent conflict between the country’s government and special rapporteurs for freedom of expression of the United Nations (UN), David Kaye, and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), Edison Lanza.
Lawmakers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines passed the 2016 Cybercrime Act on Aug. 12 that provides up to two years in prison for online defamation.
The main objective of the creation of the Law on Personal Data Protection– enacted on July 11, 2013 and effective in all of its rules since May 8, 2015 – was to protect the personal data of those who feel vulnerable by its publication, like its comercial use by private companies, up to achieving the removal of news related to information in question from the internet.
Journalistic associations and professionals in Argentina warn that a bill pending in the legislature threatens freedom of expression in the country. If the initiative is passed, reporters who disclose names and information of people who could be involved in crimes of money laundering and tax evasion could be arrested.
Given the various policies of the current Venezuelan government that restrict the free circulation of information in traditional media, social networks have become an alternative for news consumption among Venezuelans. This is according to a study commissioned by the human rights advocacy organization Espacio Público.
Starting June 2, broadcasters in Mexico may legally transmit information in any of the native languages of the country that are recognized as national languages, including indigenous languages.
Activists and media workers in Guatemala fighting for the passage of a bill to protect the existence of community radio stations in the country are facing resistance from a media broadcasting association.
The new challenges to the implementation of free-to-air digital television in Latin American countries, and its impacts on freedom of expression in the region, were discussed on April 5 during the 157th Period of Sessions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The Organic Telecommunications Law could change in Venezuela after José Gregorio Correa, a member of Congress for the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD by its initials in Spanish), presented a reform proposal before the Communications Media Commission of the National Assembly.