Number of LATAM projects as of November 2021
| COUNTRIES | PROJECTS | |
|---|---|---|
| ARGENTINA | 7 | |
| BRAZIL | 28 | |
| CHILE | 3 | |
| COLOMBIA | 14 | |
| ECUADOR | 2 | |
| GUATEMALA | - | |
| MEXICO | 13 | |
| PARAGUAY | 2 | |
| PERU | 2 |
Topics of bills presented between July and November 2021
| Access to information | 6.9% | |
| Bullying | 10.3% | |
| Apologia | 5.2% | |
| Freedom of expression | 8.6% | |
| Equality and non-discrimination | 17.2% | |
| Internet Access | 1.7% |
| Privacy | 1.7% | |
| Protection of minors | 15.5% | |
| Reputation and honor | 5.2% | |
| Content moderation | 5.2% | |
| Gender Violence | 5.2% | |
| Indigenous rights | 3.4% | |
| Fake News | 1.7% |
Topics of bills presented between July and November 2021
| Access to information | 4.8% | |
| Bullying | 9.5% | |
| Apologia | 4.8% | |
| Freedom of worship | 1.6% | |
| Equality and non-discrimination | 15.9% | |
| Official advertising | 4.8% | |
| Fake News | 1.6% | |
| Protection of minors | 14.3% | |
| Reputation and honor | 4.8% | |
| Content moderation | 4.8% |
11/11
The judges of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation expressed their concerns for the judicial investigation into the opinions of the ex-president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, about certain judges. This study was requested by the prosecutor Franco Picardi in order to determine the disqualifying or insulting expressions that Mauricio Macri and a group of Cambiemos leaders and lawyers may have had between 2015 and 2019 on the Cassation Judge Ana María Figueroa and the former Attorney General Alejandra Gils Carbó, in the framework of the case in which alleged pressure on the magistrates is investigated to obtain favorable results during the government of Cambiemos. The Civic Coalition and Together for Change denounced this expert opinion as an attack on freedom of expression, an attempt to criminalize opinion that affects parliamentary immunity.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
18/11
After the result of the November 2021 elections, the Governor of the Province of Chaco, Jorge Capitanich, requested regulate more to the media, expressing that they are hegemonic and that people "think what the media and journalists propose." In this sense, he proposed modifying some articles of the Media Law to guarantee equity mechanisms that help to mitigate the incidence that the media have in the construction of people's mental frameworks.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
23/11
To date, nine hooded people carried out a attack with Molotov cocktails against the headquarters of one of the most important media in Argentina, the Clarín newspaper. The company described the attack as a violent demonstration against a media outlet. That same day the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, repudiation In his Twitter account the attack against the media, he expressed that violence always alters democratic coexistence and asked that those responsible for the act be identified. The attack was also criticized by the journalistic organizations ADEPA and FOPEA.
VIOLENCE AGAINST NEWSPAPER MEDIA
28/10
El Superior Electoral Court (TSE) decided to revoke the mandate and declare ineligible State Deputy Fernando Francischini for spreading false news about fraud in electronic voting machines. The court accepted an ordinary appeal from the Electoral Public Ministry, which investigated the deputy for having appeared live on his social networks a few minutes before the close of voting in the 2018 elections, in which he cast doubts on the correctness of the voting machines. electronic voting. According to the minister reporting the case, the deputy’s conduct constitutes an abuse of political power and misuse of the media. The same day, The TSE unanimously decided to dismiss the Electoral Judicial Investigation Actions (Aije) that requested the revocation of the Bolsonaro-Mourão ballot for abuse of economic power and misuse of the media in the 2018 electoral campaign for the illegal firing of massive messages, through WhatsApp, during the campaign and fraudulent use of personal data for this purpose. The actions, filed by the “Povo Feliz De Novo” Coalition (with the PT, PC do B and Pros parties), attributed the massive firing of false news to attack opponents of the campaign for the winning ballot in the presidential elections. The Court concluded that, despite the shooting, the facts were not able to influence the outcome of the elections, nor was the link between the irregularities and the winning ballot proven. EOn the same occasion, however, the TSE established the thesis that the use of instant messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, to promote shots containing information, false statements to the detriment of opposing candidates, may represent abuse of economic power and improper use of social networks.
FAKE NEWS
28/10
The deputy Orlando Silva submitted a report for approval of the PL No. 2.630 / 2020 (Bill to combat Fake News), with a substitute proposal. The text was prepared by the Working Group for the Improvement of Brazilian Legislation - Internet (GTNET). The new text proposes an article that regulates the request for custody and access to user data regarding the sending and receiving of messages and calls in private messaging applications with the purpose of establishing evidence in the criminal investigation and in the instruction criminal procedure. The proposal also defines other obligations for private messaging services, such as the limitation of forwarding the same message to several users, and the institution of a mechanism to evaluate the prior consent of users for inclusion in groups. In the section referring to the performance of the Public Power, the text creates a right of restitution, to be evaluated by the Judicial Power, in case of content moderation in public interest accounts that operate in accordance with fundamental rights and administrative principles, in addition to establish transparency duties for platforms when moderation measures are applied to these accounts. In addition, the proposal attributes to the Internet Management Committee (CGI.br) the responsibility of monitoring the measures provided by law, including the development of a code of conduct for suppliers and the evaluation of the adequacy of moderation policies and procedures. of contents.
FAKE NEWS CONTENT MODERATION
04/11
On the date, as a conclusion of the opinion No. 1/2021 of the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI, in Portuguese) on the conduct of the Brazilian government with respect to the Covid-19 pandemic, two bills were presented to the Federal Senate to stop the creation and dissemination of fake news through the internet. The Draft Law No. 3814/2021 seeks to modify the Civil Framework for the Internet ("MCI" - Law No. 12.965 / 14) and the Money Laundering Law (Law No. 9.613 / 98). According to the proposal, the MCI would require connection and application providers to identify their users through their full name, date of birth and CPF (CNPJ, if it is a legal entity), obligatorily provided by users as a condition for the use of the service, and that must be validated by the providers based on the data of the Federal Treasury. Bill No. 3813/2021, for its part, seeks to reform the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code "to criminalize the creation and dissemination of false news, particularly in cases of public health".
CONTENT MODERATION
08/11
El Federal Public Ministry (MPF) launched a public civil investigation to investigate possible violations of fundamental rights committed by Internet application providers derived from its policies to combat organized practices of disinformation and violence in the digital world. The survey officializes the companies responsible for the WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube platforms to send, within a period of ten days, information on the measures taken by them against organized practices of disinformation and production of false content as well as mass shooting and the use of robots and fictional profiles. There will also be public hearings and consultations with experts on the subject. According to the ordinance opening the investigation, One of the central elements of the investigation refers to the dissemination of false content «with potential harmful effects for the understanding of the population of certain facts, relevant for the effectiveness of public health actions, for the protection of the environment and the functioning of the country's democratic institutions ”.
LIABILITY OF INTERMEDIARIES
09/11
El Federal Supreme Court (STF) partially granted the complaint filed by journalist Renato Rovai, against the decision of the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ-SP) that determined that the journalist excluded a tweet criticizing the special adviser for International Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, Filipe Martins. Rovai reportedly posted on Twitter a reproduction of an article in Forum Magazine about a supremacist gesture by Felipe Martins in the Senate and a tweet from the Holocaust Museum about the repudiation of Nazi and supremacist acts. In his publications, the journalist made critical comments about the adviser's conduct. Martins filed a lawsuit against the journalist in which he requested compensation for non-pecuniary damage and the exclusion of publications. In the first instance, a judge rejected Martins' injunction to exclude postagens. In the TJ-SP, however, the decision was reversed, beginning to determine the exclusion of one of the tweets. When judging the urgent protection requested in the complaint filed by Rovai, the STF understood that “the premises that support the denounced fact are not sufficient to authorize the violation, even if provisional, of the right to freedom of expression, even more so without training of the contradictory system and in view of the possible irreversibility of the measure ”. Minister Fachin ordered the suspension of the effects of the claimed decision until the judgment on the merits of the claim.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
10/11
El II Special Civil Court of São Paulo denied a claim for compensation filed by two men with the surname Bolsonaro against the newspaper "Folha de São Paulo". In July they sued the vehicle and the columnist Ruy Castro, responsible for an article published in April this year under the title "Extinction of the Bolsonaro name." In the text, Castro believes that the surname of the President of the Republic will disappear due to the absence of people who wish to use it. The plaintiffs, Marcelo Blanco Bolsonaro de Moura and José Paulo Bolsonaro de Moura argued that the column offends their honor and requested that the newspaper and the columnist, together, be sentenced to pay compensation for non-pecuniary damage, in addition to requesting immediate removal. of the text from the air and a retraction. The court denied the requests, alleging that there was no moral damage "since there were no violations of the rights to image, privacy, privacy and honor" of the two.
HONOR AND REPUTATION
22/11
El IV Civil Court of the Judicial District of Rio de Janeiro ordered that federal deputy Marcelo Freixo remove from his Facebook and Instagram posts a montage with a photo of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. According to the decision, the publications, made on 12/11, simulated a police file with the son of President Jair Bolsonaro holding a sign with the words: "Money laundering," "Criminal organization," and "Corruption." The posts were accompanied by the caption: “Rachadinha is corruption. Flávio Bolsonaro's destiny is jail. From him and the whole family ”. According to the decision: “the assembly is not confused with freedom of expression, expression and the right to criticize, even if it is a federal deputy, protected by parliamentary immunity. In a mature political environment, information cannot be based on fictitious and false montages, as if they were true, but certainly on clear, truthful and public interest information ”. In light of this understanding, it was determined that, within two hours of the citation, the “manipulated image” was removed, although the content of the caption could be preserved.
HONOR AND REPUTATION FAKE NEWS
23/11
The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ruled that connection providers must provide data that identifies the users responsible for publishing offensive material to Marielle Franco, a former councilor of Rio de Janeiro who was murdered in 2018. The ministers analyzed an appeal filed by Marielle's partner, Mónica Benício, and her sister, Arielle Barbosa, against the decision of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice that denied access to the data of those responsible for publications considered offensive. Unanimously, the ministers followed the rapporteur's understanding, who advocated for the removal of the users' right to privacy given the possibility that they have committed crimes against the honor and memory of Marielle. Likewise, according to the speaker, the request of the former counselor's family would be supported by the Marco Civil da Internet, without conflict with the General Data Protection Law. Suppliers must, within ten days after notification, inform the name, address, ID and CPF of those responsible for the publications.
CONTENT MODERATION
20/11
Public hearings continue in the Constitutional Convention of Chile on the issues of the right to communication and digital rights Throughout the month of November, the Commission Nº7 of the Constitutional Convention of Chile on Systems of Knowledge, Culture, Science, Technology, Arts and Heritage has continued to receive public hearings with the participation of organizations and institutions, experts and experts in the area of communications and digital technologies, to present proposals and analysis in relation to the incorporation of the right to communication and digital rights in the new Constitution being debated in Chile. The themes of these proposals have addressed from guarantees to the principles of freedom of expression and pluralism, the promotion of the democratization of the media sector, a gender approach in communications, but also the need to reinforce the role of the State. in promoting rights such as connectivity, protection of personal data and privacy, among others. Some of the organizations that have presented are: Chile's College of Journalists, Digital Rights NGO, MediaLab of FLACSO Chile, Chile's Feminist Journalists Network, Community Television Association, Computer Law Studies Center, Chilean Institute of Law and Technology and the Chile Chapter of the Internet Society.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
28/11
Continue the processing of the bill that seeks to regulate digital platforms in Chile and that is currently in the Senate's Commission on Challenges of the Future, Science, Technology and Innovation. The bill has continued to receive critical observations from Chilean and international civil society organizations, who have warned about the risks of the proposal for freedom of expression, situations of censorship, among others. To the recent letter proposed by the Internet Society Chile Chapter with the adhesion of several Chilean civil society organizations warning On the proposed bill, another coordinated from the NGO Derechos Digitales has joined. The Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Pedro Vaca, offered to provide technical support to the parliamentary discussion through his twitter account (tw @PVacaV)
CONTENT MODERATION LIABILITY OF INTERMEDIARIES FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
17/11
The government party, Centro Democrático, presented a bill to allow electoral campaigns for Congress, governorships, mayors and municipal councils to allow the publication of political advertising to through of community television and radio services, currently prohibited. The project is motivated by the fact that this type of advertising is allowed in the case of presidential elections and argues that there is no justification for this distinction.
ELECTORAL ADVERTISING
22/11
The National Registry of Civil Status and the National Electoral Council asked the Constitutional Court to speed up the automatic study of the constitutionality of the Electoral Code. The code, which was approved in December 2020, received criticism from Civil society organizations because, among other things, it could punish critical expressions against political parties and movements. The promulgation of the code, which requires the prior approval of the Constitutional Court, is in the interest of the Registrar's Office and the National Electoral Council for the presidential elections of March 2022. However, on November 22, the Constitutional Court decided do not speed up the process, finding that the arguments given by these institutions are not sufficient. The Court has a deadline to resolve until February 2022.
ELECTORAL FREEDOM
24/11
On this date, five years have passed since the signing of the peace agreement between the government of Colombia and the FARC guerrillas. This agreement established three key points on the strengthening of the communication media in the country: (i) open calls for new community radio stations and training sessions for these media workers, (ii) creation of twenty peace radio stations in territories highly affected by the conflict, and (iii) promote adjustments to the regulation for the allocation of the official guideline. According to the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), after five years the government has half delivered. Although it has made progress in opening the calls for new stations, FLIP denounces that there has been no support to guarantee the sustainability of the new media. Eleven out of twenty stations for peace have been created, but they face operational problems such as constant power outages in some regions. In the matter of the official guideline there is no progress. The full FLIP report can be found here.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OFFICIAL ADVERTISING
DISCRIMINATION
13/11
Ecuador is experiencing an extremely complex and sensitive moment due to the massacres that whip the prisons in the country and that leave hundreds of deaths. Until now, the State has not been able to take effective control of the prisons in the country, which generates a situation of extreme insecurity and lack of guarantees for the lives of persons deprived of liberty. On November 13, 2021, a slaughter at the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, he left around seventy dead. This is a matter of enormous national significance and of particular importance for the enforcement of human rights in the country, however the ability of journalists to cover the news and delve into the roots of this problem has been severely limited to such an extent. that the information about what happens inside is practically nil. This has raised a debate on the guarantees that journalists should have to cover news from inside prisons and, thus, contribute to the free flow of information and opinion.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
01/11
The Organization Article 19 condemned the murders of two journalists (Fredy López - Chiapas and Alfredo Cardoso - Guerrero) that occurred on October 28 and 29, 2021 respectively, and demanded that federal and state authorities take action to eradicate violence against the press, protective measures for the families of the aforementioned journalists, and a diligent investigation of the murders.
VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS
02/11
The Organization Article 19 updated information to public opinion on the death of journalists Juan Nelcio Espinoza Menera because there are strong indications that the journalist was a victim of torture at the hands of public servants from Coahuila.
VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS
04/11
The Organization Article 19 alerted of the initiative to be presented on November 9, 2021 by the Senator Salomón Jara Cruz, of the MORENA Party, which seeks to reform the federal laws of popular consultation and revocation of mandate, as well as the general law on electoral crimes, seeking, among other issues, to "prohibit the contracting of propaganda on radio, television and / or or social networks aimed at influencing the opinion of citizens on popular consultation and revocation of mandate. Thus, it is also proposed to sanction any action aimed at delegitimizing, discouraging, inhibiting or sabotaging the participation and exercise of a constitutional right ”, which criminalizes freedom of expression.
REFERENDUM FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
08/11
La General Prosecutor of the Republic announced that "he obtained an arrest warrant against Juan Carlos" G ", for his probable responsibility in the commission of the crime of illegal intervention of communications aggravated to the detriment of a journalist, using the software known publicly as Pegasus". Article 19 recognizes journalists and human rights defenders who denounced the events in 2017.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
09/11
The Organization R3D He pointed out that the President of the National Electoral Institute of Mexico lied in his appearance before the Chamber of Deputies by saying that there is no claim for voting online. In this regard, R3D recalled that there are questions because the design for online voting does not guarantee the chain of trust and this autonomous body has prevented reviewing the observations made to the audits of the online voting system, by reserving the information for five years.
ELECTRONIC VOTING
15/11
Various civil society organizations (Article 19, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, Communication and Information of Women AC, the National Network of Journalists, the Network of Journalists of Quintana Roo and Reporters Without Borders) warned about various acts of violence against the journalist Cecilia Reyna Solís Martín who has followed up on the human rights violations that occurred in the protest of November 9, 2020.
VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS
16/11
La Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights He urged the State of Mexico to continue its efforts in investigating the use of Pegasus software in Mexico, which was used to spy on journalists, human rights defenders and people with public leadership who opposed the government. It is noteworthy that within the framework of the 181st period of sessions (October 18-29, 2021) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, R3D, Article 19 and the PRODH Center they questioned the absence of democratic controls and the lack of transparency in the use and state implementation of surveillance technologies.
SURVEILLANCE
17/11
On the date the determination of the amparo in review 308/2020 promoted by the organization was notified to the Congress of the Union Article 19, in which the General Law of Social Communication was declared unconstitutional, and to correct the deficiencies no later than December 15, 2021, in particular what it orders is to comply with the requirements of “having concrete procedures and specific rules aimed at guaranteeing that the exercise of said expense complies with the indicated criteria, thus reducing the discretion of the government agents involved. "
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
18/11
Various Mexican civil society organizations (Miguel Agustín Pro Human Rights Center, La Montaña “Tlachinollan” Human Rights Center, Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center, Article 19 and Independent Human Rights Commission of Morelos) raised their concern about the legal actions that the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has taken against human rights defender José Martínez Cruz, who served as First General Visitor of the CNDH and publicly expressed his differences with the current head of the organism for the lack of investigation on the Army in serious violations to human rights.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE
18/11
The Organization Article 19 alerted on various acts of the Puebla Planning and Finance Secretariat against the e-consultation media, directed by Rodolfo Ruíz and El Popular through their director Carolina Fernández, that in the context of the seven non-pecuniary damage lawsuits against these same means and a possible investigation for money laundering, can be interpreted as harassment for the exercise of freedom of expression.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
22/11
On the date it was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the Agreement By which the projects and works of the Federal Government related to infrastructure in communications, telecommunications, customs, border, hydraulic, water, environment, tourism, health, railways, railways, energy, are classified as projects of public interest and national security. ports, airports, or whatever is considered priority or strategic for national development. The mention that they are national security would limit transparency and accountability in the execution of such projects. It is important to contextualize that said Agreement is published days after Latinus (9.20-15.50) released the report in which several infrastructure projects implemented by the Secretariat of National Defense of which it had to make information transparent, reveal the contracting without tenders, and contracts for millionaire amounts to companies without experience and / or with a fictitious legal address. The National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data will present a Constitutional Controversy before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation against the Agreement that determines infrastructure works of the Federal Government as National Security (Press release INAI-412-21.pdf).
CONNECTIVITY
02/11
It was presented in the Chamber of Deputies on Bill of Protection to Journalists, Communicators and Human Rights Defenders This project aims to establish the bases of cooperation and coordination between the Powers of the State, international public organizations, public institutions, organizations, private persons and civil society in order to guarantee the life, integrity, freedom, security and job stability of all those people who are at risk as a result of the exercise of journalism, press work or the defense of human rights.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
05/11
On the date, at the initiative of the Executive Power, the Bill "Approving the Treaty Relating to the Electronic Transmission of Requests for International Legal Cooperation between Central Authorities", Signed in the City of Medellín, Republic of Colombia, on July 24 and 25, 2019. The Treaty is an international agreement for the electronic transmission of requests for international legal cooperation between Central Authorities, negotiated within the framework of the Conference of Ministers of Justice of the Ibero-American Countries (COMJIB). Regulates the use of the electronic platform Iber @, the secure communication system of the Ibero-American Network for International Legal Cooperation (IberRed), as a formal and preferred means of transmitting requests for international legal cooperation between central authorities through secure electronic certificates, endowed with signature digital, within the framework of the treaties in force between the Parties. Therefore, a change will be made from the courier service to the virtual one, which will have advantages in the speed of shipments, the security and integrity of the files, confidential documents that affect to the rights and freedoms of citizens (data protection) and companies, sub judice documentation, stability between the point of origin and destination, among others.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
09/11
The Public Ministry started an investigation against a journalist for the alleged crime of revealing the identity of an aspiring effective collaborator, typified in the article 409-B of the Penal Code. The criminal investigation has been directed against Ernesto Cabral, a journalist from Ojo Público, who in 2019 wrote a report - together with the medium The Intercept (Brazil) - in which they became aware of irregular coordination between a prosecutor, the alleged Effective collaborating applicant and his lawyer, who would aim to align the versions of the applicant and the prosecution. The Public Ministry has also requested that the secrecy of the journalist's communications be lifted. The action of the prosecution has been questioned because the identity of the would-be effective contributor had been publicly known sincee several years, and because the obligation to keep confidentiality should fall on the authorities involved in the effective collaboration process, and not on the journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is pronounced in favor of the journalist and demands that he be allowed to “him and the Ojo Público team to carry out their work without being harassed".
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
17/11
The leader of the political party Alliance for Progress (APP), César Acuña, solicitous to the Judiciary the seizure of the property of the journalist Christopher Acosta and the publishing house Penguin Random House Peru, to guarantee the payment of the civil reparation that Acuña has requested as part of his complaint against the journalist and the publisher for alleged crime of defamation. The journalist is the author of the book "Plata como cancha", which focuses on an investigation about Acuña, for which the latter demanded 100 million soles, indicating that "has caused damage to the image and reputation of myself, my family members, and my social environment". The Institute of Press and Society (IPYS) and Peruvian Press Council They have expressed their rejection of the politician's request for representing an intimidation mechanism against journalism.
REPUTATION AND HONOR
22/11
To date, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Eduardo González, said that it will only provide statements to the media "that do not cause me problems", evidencing a discriminatory treatment against the press.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
28/11
The journalistic program Cuarto Poder revealed that President Pedro Castillo, a Minister of State and congressmen from the ruling party had maintained secret meetings in a property other than the Government Palace, among themselves and with representatives of State supplier companies. This despite the fact that Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and various civil society organizations had warned a few months ago that said practice violated the obligations of transparency established in the regulations on the management of interests and access to public information.
TRANSPARENCY
