Number of LATAM projects as of July 2021
| COUNTRIES | PROJECTS | |
|---|---|---|
| ARGENTINA | 22 | |
| BRAZIL | 28 | |
| CHILE | 1 | |
| COLOMBIA | 6 | |
| ECUADOR | 1 | |
| GUATEMALA | 1 | |
| MEXICO | 2 | |
| PARAGUAY | - | |
| PERU | 13 |
Topics of bills presented between May and July 2021
| Access to information | 26.13% | |
| Bullying | 5.3% | |
| Apologia | 5.3% | |
| Freedom of expression | 15.8% | |
| Freedom of the press | 10.5% |
| Pornography | 5.3% | |
| Privacy | 5.3% | |
| Protection of minors | 5.30% | |
| Reputation and honor | 15.8% | |
| Liability of intermediaries | 5.3% |
Topics of bills presented between May and July 2021
| Access to information | 26.13% | |
| Bullying | 5.3% | |
| Apologia | 5.3% | |
| Freedom of expression | 15.8% | |
| Freedom of the press | 10.5% | |
| Pornography | 5.3% | |
| Privacy | 5.3% | |
| Protection of minors | 5.30% | |
| Reputation and honor | 15.8% | |
| Liability of intermediaries | 5.3% |
02/07
A bill of law which aims to penalize those who publicly deny, minimize, justify or vindicate the commission of the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes contemplated in Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and in international human rights treaties with constitutional hierarchy and / or of those who were convicted by their commission. In addition, the character of Public official will be considered as an aggravating crime.
APOLOGY CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
05/07
A bill of law that seeks to prohibit the use of inclusive language in the drafting of official documents and in the presentations made by individuals to national authorities, in exhibitions, speeches, speeches, press conferences and any other form of communication used by national authorities and in educational establishments of all levels, whether public or private.
EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION
12/07
The Criminal Misdemeanor and Misdemeanor Court No. 6 of the City of Buenos Aires condemned to the director of the Nova Agency, Mario Casalongue, for the crimes of discrimination, gender violence, dissemination of intimate images, digital harassment and disobedience committed against the first lady Fabiola Yáñez and the family of President Alberto Fernández. The Justice imposed on Casalogne 25 days of suspended prison, fulfill 50 hours of community tasks in an entity of public good, hold a workshop on the subject of gender violence in the Inadi, not make contact with the members of the presidential family and the prohibition of mentioning Yáñez for 2 years in the public media.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS DIGITAL HARASSMENT
30/06
A decision was published that dismissed comedian Marcius Melhem's claim for compensation against host Danilo Gentili. Gentili had mentioned, on his Twitter account, a report containing information on the complaint of moral and sexual harassment made by actresses from the humor department of TV Globo against Melhem, mocking Melhem's work and the accusations against him. The ruling, however, states that Gentilli's expressions are protected by freedom of expression. In another lawsuit filed by Melhem, related to the same harassment complaints, youtuber Felipe Castanhari was sentenced to pay compensation for non-pecuniary damage, to refrain from other offensive demonstrations and to publish the decision in a post on social networks. In sentencing, the judge eIt claimed that YouTuber exceeded in his exercise of the right to freedom of expression “by using words and terms with a very strong negative charge and with the clear and obvious intention not to limit himself to expressing an opinion, but to pass judgment highly negative".
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION CONTENT MODERATION
07/07
Deputy Kim Kataguiri presented the Bill 2473/2021, which intends to repeal crimes against the honor of the Brazilian Penal Code, with the exception of the injury qualified by reason of race, age or disability.
HONOR AND REPUTATION
13/07
The Federal Senate approved the Bill 5613/2020, which aims to combat political violence against women. The text proposes changes to the Electoral Code and the inclusion of a criminal offense: "to harass, shame, humiliate or threaten, by any means, the candidate or holder of an elective mandate, using contempt or discrimination against the condition of woman or in reason for their color, race or ethnic origin, in order to prevent or hinder their electoral campaign or the performance of their elective mandate ”. The foreseen penalty is one to four years in prison and a fine. The proposal includes, as a cause for an increase in the sentence, discrimination based on the condition of the woman or on her color, race or ethnicity in cases of the crime of disclosure of false facts, during electoral propaganda.
GENDER VIOLENCE
20/07
State Representative André Fernandez was convicted to compensate the journalist Patrícia Campos Mello for having accused her on her Twitter of exchanging sex for information harmful to President Jair Bolsonaro. Mello is the author of reports that they denounced an irregular message firing scheme in the 2018 elections.
HONOR AND REPUTATION
21/07
El São Paulo State Court of Justice (TJ-SP) again determined that Terça Livre's account be reactivated on YouTube. The platform had deactivated the account for second time on 15/07, by a decision of the court of first instance in favor of Google in which it was considered that YouTube can “restrict some activities that it considers not suitable for its platform, provided that this is duly explained and done in a transparent way so that the person knows what actions and behaviors he should refrain from practicing ”. The channel appealed the sentence on 19.07/50, and the same day asked the reporter to reactivate the channel again. The second instance judge in charge of the case at the TJ-SP stated that the damage to Terça Livre is "clear", highlighting its "thousands of subscribers" and its "technical team of XNUMX employees", and considered that there would be "no damage »For Google with reactivation. Therefore, it determined that the channel will remain online until the ruling of the appeal by the TJ-SP.
CONTENT MODERATION LIABILITY OF INTERMEDIARIES
20/07
A bill of law which seeks to update the current Penal Code, in relation to reformulating the crime of threats and creating the new crimes of coercion and harassment in Chile. President Piñera's initiative aims to create qualified figures for threats when: one threatens to commit one of the most serious crimes of the Penal Code (homicide, serious injuries, kidnapping, fire, etc); are carried out anonymously or by providing a false identity, through different means, including digital platforms. The bill is presented in a context in which several of the figures of the constitutional conventions that began to function as a Constitutional Convention in July, including President Elisa Loncón, have received threats and harassment on their network accounts. social.
THREATS BULLYING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
21/07
El study "Being a politician on twitter: political gender violence in social networks to constituent candidates" carried out by Corporación Humanas in collaboration with the Interpreta agency, identified that 69% of conventional women constituents received attacks with discriminatory and discrediting messages during the campaign period. This report analyzed the Twitter platform accounts of 428 constituent candidates in 13 districts, classified discrimination in three types of women: sexual dissidents, young / old and indigenous women. In the case of the first category, 18 candidates identified themselves as part of the LGBTIQA + community, where 1.022 violent mentions were registered. In these candidacies, offenses focused on gender roles and mandates were also observed, reaching 10%, due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION GENDER VIOLENCE
05/07
The Chilean Undersecretariat of Telecommunications (Subtel) reported that it granted Starlink, SpaceX's satellite services company, an authorization in an “experimental service for non-commercial use” with which it will reach the towns of Caleta Sierra, in the region. from Coquimbo, a maritime zone located about 465 kilometers north of Santiago de Chile; and Sotomó in the Los Lagos region, located more than 1.000 kilometers south of the Chilean capital. This would make Chile the first country in Latin America to have satellite Internet service.
CONNECTIVITY INTERNET ACCESS
10/06
During the recess of Congress, the Communications Regulatory Commission (CRC) presented a report on the state of the fixed internet service throughout the country. According to the CRC, the fixed internet service reached 7,8 million accesses at the end of 2020; an increase of 11% or 812 thousand more accesses compared to 2019.
INTERNET ACCESS
07/07
The government of Colombia responded to the report published by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) after its working visit in June, regarding the series of social demonstrations that began in April of this year. The IACHR had made several recommendations related to the exercise of freedom of expression and of the press, online and offline, such as ensuring the protection of journalists covering the strike, respecting the independence of the media, and providing information on the operation of the internet, given the reports of possible blockages or interruptions. In its response, the Colombian government does not recognize the disproportionate use of force against the press, despite the multiple complaints in this regard. The government did not refer to the complaints of internet blocking.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
13/07
The Facebook Content Advisory Council announcing two new cases to take. Among them is a case from Colombia in which Facebook removed content from a post for violating its policy on hate speech. This publication consisted of a short video showing a demonstration in Colombia and in which the protesters chanted and addressed the Colombian president about the tax reform and the strike in derogatory and potentially discriminatory terms.
RIGHT TO PROTEST CONTENT MODERATION FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
20/07
Senator Jonatan Tamayo presented the bill 56/21 Senate, which seeks to regulate the provision of adult entertainment services through digital platforms.
PORNOGRAPHY
06/07
La Posta is a digital journalism portal, hosted mainly on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He defines himself as "we are the news, but sexier." It is a medium with an irreverent news format, which moves between comedy, information, interviews and the dissemination of content under a format that aims to be close to young audiences on social networks. At the beginning of the month, La Posta launched a program called La Posta XXX on a national television channel, TC Televisión, aimed at analyzing the most important news events of the week. expression. The two presenters went on the air drinking whiskey and at one point in the program analyzed the political performance of an indigenous leader, Leonidas Iza. Iza's face remained on a wall and the presenters threw darts at her, while they made an acrostic with her characteristics that resulted in the word CABRON. Society and President Guillermo Lasso they spoke out against of the program, the same did the general manager of the channel, who announced ethical correction measures. TC television announced that La Posta XXX would continue, but subject to an internal code of ethics, which, in the words of director Luis Eduardo Vivanco, was uncomfortable, so they decided backing out.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS REPUTATION AND HONOR
14/07
Government Decree No. 5 - 2021 of the President of the Republic in the Council of Ministers, through which a State of Prevention is decreed throughout the national territory under the so-called Public Order Law. Although it is the "mildest" constitutional state of exception of the five types of exception regimes allowed by the Guatemalan Constitution, nevertheless, according to a Public Order Law (Decree No. 7 of the National Constituent Assembly of 1965), the The Executive may, among other limitations of law, “require publicity and dissemination bodies to avoid those publications that, in the opinion of the authority, contribute or incite the alteration of public order. If the prevention is not complied with and without prejudice to other measures, it will proceed for disobedience against those responsible ".
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS NATIONAL SECURITY
26/07
El bill No. 5915, which contains the so-called "Law of Freedom of Religion and Belief, of Worship and of Conscience" commenting on the information capsules of the previous month, advances. The President of the Republic himself has publicly expressed his support, stating the following: "Faith precedes politics, so we will give it all the necessary support so that Congress can approve the bill for religious freedom." The most questioned part of this project is an article that expressly exonerates religious organizations from verifying the origin of the funds they may receive, for anti-money laundering purposes. According to some, these modifications could be aimed at money laundering.
FREEDOM OF WORSHIP
29/06
A arrest warrant against an influencer "YosStop" for the crime of child pornography, for the reproduction and storage of a video in which an adolescent woman is seen being the victim of a rape by four people in 2018, who later spread it on social networks. The matter has gained public relevance for various reasons, including its relationship to the issue of digital violence.
PORNOGRAPHY PROTECTION OF CHILDREN, GIRLS AND ADOLESCENTS
22/07
El journalist Ricardo López was a victim of homicide. It is noteworthy that he had previously been digitally attacked and forcibly displaced.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
22/07
The National Electoral Institute (INE) determined to fine the Nuevo León Governor-Elect, Samuel García and the Citizen Movement Party, for not reporting as campaign expenses, the activities carried out by the an influencer Mariana Rodríguez, wife of Samuel García. The INE also fined the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico for hiring influencers to give messages in favor of candidates of that party during the electoral ban.
ELECTORAL FREEDOM TRANSPARENCY
26/07
The Organization R3D requested the President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the installation of a International Technical Assistance Mechanism to accompany the investigations, by the use of Pegasus, a tool contracted by the Federal Government in the 2012-2018 six-year term.
PRIVACY CYBERPATROL
27/07
José Kamel Nacif, a businessman who was linked to the crime of torture reported by journalist Lydia Cacho, obtained a protection that frees him from all responsibility for considering that "there is no reliable proof" of his participation. This decision was questioned by Article 19, an organization that recalls that the arrest of José Kamel Nacif has as a context the publication of the book Demonios del Edén by journalist Lydia Cacho in which she documents a network of child sexual exploitation in which she points to him as one of those responsible. In December 2015, Lydia Cacho was arrested and transferred from Quintana Roo to Puebla for crimes of defamation and slander, by Puebla authorities, who were allegedly accompanied by people in vehicles owned by José Kamel Nacif. The 2005 arrest was analyzed by the UN Human Rights Committee determining responsibility for the Mexican State.
HONOR AND REPUTATION FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
27/07
Article 19 Erick Manzanilla Gómez, director of the digital media Presidio Mx, called on federal government authorities to provide protection for the threats against him and his family, as well as for the "arrests" of 11 and 23 July in the State of Yucatán.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
05/07
The Third Office of the Fourth Corporate Criminal Prosecutor's Office of Cercado de Lima initiated a Preliminary investigation, for a period of 30 days, against the politician Rafael López Aliaga, the general manager of the television channel 'Willax' and the television hosts Philipp Butters and Humberto 'Beto' Ortiz, for the alleged commission of the crimes of Sedición and Grave Disturbance of Public Tranquility. This as a result of a complaint filed by defense lawyers of the next governing party, Peru Libre. In the justification of the investigation disposition, it is mentioned that “the defendants would be using as a platform the political party Renovación Popular and the channel (…) as mass media” to broadcast “news with conspiratorial connotations (…) inciting the results to be unknown elections of June 06, 2021 ”,“ calls for a coup ”and“ messages of hatred and instigation to kill Pedro Castillo Terrores, Vladimir Cerrón Rojas, Guillermo Bermejo or 'communists' ”. The Institute of Press and Society (IPYS) it rejected "the decision of the prosecutor because there is no objective fact linked to the participation of journalists in an uprising in arms, a necessary element for any accusation of the aforementioned crime."
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
09/07
The president-elect, Pedro Castillo, and his legal advisor, Julián Palacín, sent a letter to the Minister of Transport and Communications in which they request the sanction of the television channel 'Willax', for an alleged breach of article 5 of Ministerial Resolution 586-2021-MTC / 01 (Code of ethics for the provision of broadcasting services). They allege, in general, a violation of "fundamental human rights, truthful and impartial information, (...) honor and good reputation, and the right to rectification." Thus, they point out that "a media that defames, lies and affects the honor of people, must receive the sanctions of the Law", so that "if administrative responsibility is found, fines and (...) criminal and civil complaints will have to be imposed. ”. Given this, the Press and Society Institute (IPYS) issued a release in which Castillo's request is questioned, since "it does not indicate what content is related to an alleged violation or the linked article of the Code of Ethics", interpreting this inaccuracy as an objection to his journalistic editorial line. Also, the Peruvian Press Council (CPP) expressed its rejection of the request for "an intimidating tone and without the minimum support of evidence (...) without following the course determined by law."
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS REPUTATION AND HONOR
