CELE Legislative Observatory

News of legislative and regulatory activity, judicial and administrative decisions

ARGENTINA BRASIL CHILE PARAGUAY PERU ECUADOR COLOMBIA MEXICO GUATEMALA

Number of LATAM bills of law between January 2024 and April 2024

COUNTRIES PROJECTS
ARGENTINA 10
BRAZIL 14
CHILE 4
COLOMBIA 2
ECUADOR 1
GUATEMALA 1
MEXICO 13
PARAGUAY
PERU 12

Topics of the bills presented between January 2024 and April 2024

Access to information 17.2%
Equality and non-discrimination 11.0%
Protection of minors 10.0%
Freedom of expression 7.2%
Reputation and honor 5.3%
National security 4.5%
Gender Violence 4.0%
Liability of intermediaries 2.9%
Internet access 2.7%
Pornography 2.1%
Apologia 1.9%
Bullying 1.5%
Official advertising 1.4%

Topics of the bills presented between January 2024 and April 2024

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%

27/06

The Government launched a campaign to make the national registration of journalists mandatory and then backed down. The Ministry of Human Capital was in the eye of the storm of public debate by having launched a campaign whose slogan was: "If you are a professional journalist you can obtain the National Registration of Journalists from the Secretariat of Labor, Employment and Social Security," adding that "registration in the national registry of journalists is mandatory and will be granted without any restriction to the individuals listed below, except for the exceptions expressly indicated in Law No. 12.908. 

Despite the publication, some time later the Capital Humano X account deleted the post. The same was done with the official Government site where it could be processed and where this obligation was indicated. However, the Human Capital officials explained to the journalistic outlet PERFIL that it is not a mandatory procedure, while specifying that it is a service that already existed and that was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor (currently the Secretariat of Labor, Employment and Social Security). 

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

25/05

Proposal aims to criminalize the creation and circulation of "fake news." On May 24.05, Congresswoman Erika Kokay (PT/DF) presented Bill no. 2051/2024, which amends the Penal Code (Decree-Law No. 2.848/1940) and the Internet Civil Framework (Law No. 12.965/2014) to criminalize the creation and circulation of fake news that distort issues related to relevant public interests, including education, environment, health, public security and national economy. Within the scope of the Penal Code, the bill defines "fake news" as textual and audiovisual materials that intentionally have the potential to alter the perception of facts and events. The bill proposes to criminalize the conduct of "creation, dissemination or sharing of fake news" itself, with increased penalties in cases where such news have political, ideological, or religious content, is related to emergency or public calamity contexts, or may endanger the life or health of third parties. 

Regarding the Civil Framework for the Internet, the bill includes, among other provisions, the same definition of fake news mentioned, as well as obligations for internet service providers, such as facilitating means to report content and remove reported content that violates platform usage policies. In her justification, the congresswoman exemplifies the relevance of the bill with the context of the flood tragedies in Rio Grande do Sul, which have been subject to misinformation, affecting rescue operations as a consequence.

FAKE NEWS DISINFORMATION

27/05

Judge orders the Union to compensate for the prolonged Instagram blockade. On May 27.05th, Judge José Jácomo Gimenes, of the 1st Federal Court of Maringá of the Federal Justice of Paraná, ordered the Union to compensate a politician for the delay in reactivating his Instagram profile. According to the decision, the plaintiff was a state deputy and his social media accounts were blocked by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) in November 2022. The blocks occurred due to a post in which the politician disclosed the location where the ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) would be, with the phrase “Unmissable opportunity” in the publication. In December 2022, the STF, in a decision issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the reactivation of the politician's profiles on different social media sites; however, Instagram was not mentioned. The unblocking of the Instagram profile only occurred in May of the following year. Judge Gimenes' decision did not identify a judicial error in the blocking of the social media accounts but pointed out a procedural error by the STF due to the delay in unblocking the deputy's Instagram profile. Due to the unjustified delay, the judge ruled that the Union must pay R$20.000,00 to the politician for the moral damages caused to the plaintiff.

CONTENT MODERATION 

TRE-MS fines mayoral candidate for use of deepfake against the mayor. Electoral judge Laisa de Oliveira Ferneda Marcolini, of the 38th Electoral Zone of Costa Rica of the Federal Regional Electoral Court of Mato Grosso do Sul (TRE-MS), fined the opponents of the mayor of Costa Rica-MS for the use of deepfake. The representation against Waldeli dos Santos Rosa, candidate for mayor of Costa Rica, and Matheus da Silva Vaz, Waldeli's collaborator, was presented by the Provisional Commission of the Progressive Party (PP) of Costa Rica due to a video that used artificial intelligence to create a fake video against the mayor of the city, Cleverson Alves dos Santos (PP/MS). In the AI-manipulated video, the mayor made a statement comparing the population of Costa Rica to dogs. The action requested the immediate removal of the video, a public retraction, and a fine for the opponents for early electoral propaganda. The judge found that the respondents used the deepfake to make early electoral propaganda in order to harm the current mayor, ordering the removal of the video and imposing fines, increased due to the men's recidivism, of R$10.000,00 for Waldeli and R$5.000,00.XNUMX for Matheus.

FAKE NEWS

04/06

Meta is ordered to restore commercial accounts and compensate a user. Judge Júlio Ribeiro, of the 6th Special Civil Court of Brasilia (TJDFT), ordered Meta to pay R$ 2 for moral damages to a user who had three commercial accounts deleted on Facebook and Instagram. In addition, the ruling mandated the restoration of the profiles. According to the records, the user uses social media to promote her business dedicated to breast reconstruction for cancer victims or poorly performed aesthetic procedures. In January 2024, Meta deactivated her profiles on the grounds that the accounts were disseminating nudity content. In the proceedings, Meta argued that it can limit and restrict certain posts according to the terms of services of its platforms. However, the ruling found Meta's claims to be generic, as it did not detail which of the user's posts violated the platform's rules. Additionally, the judge noted that the images shared did not constitute erotic or nude content that violated Meta's social media terms, policies, and community standards.

CONTENT MODERATION

05/06

President of the Chamber of Deputies creates a working group to propose new text for the platform regulation bill. On June 05.06th, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP/AL), established the working group to analyze Bill No. 2630/2020, popularly known as “PL das Fake News”, which aims to regulate the activities of social media providers and private messaging services. The proposal to create the group was announced on April 09.04th, after the president of the Chamber expressed that the bill's text in its current form has undergone several voting attempts, with different subdivisions of the text, without success. He also mentioned that «it has been the subject of controversies and many narratives have hindered the evaluation of the proposal by parliamentarians«. The working group aims to present a more «mature» version of the proposal. With 20 parliamentarians, the group is expected to present the results of this analysis and the new text within 90 days.

FAKE NEWS DISINFORMATION

07/06

Bill on AI regulation is undergoing changes and parliamentarians debate adjustments with representatives from various sectors in the Senate Plenary. The Proponent Senator of the Bill for Artificial Intelligence (Bill No. 2338/2023), Eduardo Gomes (PL/TO), presented a new substitute that will be analyzed as the final opinion of the temporary committee responsible for the issue in the Senate. Among the adjustments made to the proposal is the delimitation of the competence of the regulatory agencies in their respective areas. The new document proposes the creation of a National System for the Regulation and Governance of Artificial Intelligence (SIA), already provided for in the previous version, with a central competent authority, which will be appointed by the Federal Executive Branch, to "ensure the supervision, regulation, and proper functioning of the sector or economic activity, according to its legal competence." Among the changes, the elimination of the section that allowed the use of lethal autonomous weapons, that is, with independent choice without the need for human intervention, stands out. The part of the text that considers the credit assessment carried out by IA “highly risky” was also excluded. In addition, authorization for the use of remote biometric identification systems in the context of public security activities was maintained. The SIA will be responsible for regulating the list of high-risk AI functionalities, as well as the classification of new hypotheses, under the observance of different criteria and a regulatory procedure that ensures social participation. On 11.06th, a thematic session was held in the Senate Plenary to debate the new text of the proposed legal framework. The statements of specialists and representatives of different sectors (public, private, legal and academic) indicated the recognition of progress in some points of the text compared to the previous version; however, they highlighted that adjustments are needed. The Proponent Senator noted during the session that he considers the possibility of improvements but also argued that this should not hinder the progress of the project.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

18/06

Bill proposes holding platforms accountable for damages caused by false advertisements on social media. Senator Carlos Viana (Podemos/MG) introduced Bill No. 2431/2024, which establishes rules on the liability of providers for false ads published on their platforms. The bill imposes obligations on social networks with more than 2 million registered Brazilian users. It sets out the duty of the platforms to "prevent, mitigate, prohibit and suspend" the operation of fake accounts and the dissemination of false advertisements. In case of non-compliance with these duties, the bill establishes the joint and several liability of the social network provider for any damage caused by the false ad, excluding the application of Article 19 of the Marco Civil de Internet (Civil Framework for the InternetLaw No. 12.965/2014), which provides for the liability of platforms only after a court order. In his justification, the senator mentions examples of misleading advertising and argues for the need for a "firm intervention that also holds social media providers accountable."

DISINFORMATION FAKE NEWS

27/06

The Federal Justice suspends content that incites police violence. The 27th Federal Court of Rio de Janeiro decided that Google must suspend the availability of specific content transmitted by police officers in podcast and videocast programs on YouTube, for spreading hate speech and inciting police violence. The provisional decision states that the publications to be suspended «constitute inappropriate content, seemingly violating human rights of various kinds«. Therefore, it asserts that the suspension does not violate the freedom of expression of the defendants, as "the electronic material explicitly shows violence with a discriminatory background of a social, cultural, ethnic and economic nature.«. The decision arises from a Public Civil Action initiated by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and the Public Defender's Office of the Union (DPU) against the creators of the videos, the State of Rio de Janeiro and Google, which hosts the content on its YouTube platform. The plaintiffs request the removal of the content and require the Secretary of State for Military Police to establish regulations on "hateful or dangerous speech by members of that corporation, as well as to take disciplinary measures regarding the cases mentioned here.» The provisional measure has partially accepted the requests, which must be fully considered in a subsequent trial of the action.

CONTENT MODERATION 

18/06

Bill XNUMX/XNUMX S XNUMX/XNUMX C was shelved in the House of Representatives Bill 241/22 S 366/24 Cwas shelved in the House of Representatives. Initially, this bill sought to prevent and punish digital gender violence. However, several civil society organizations opposed the bill. Among other things, they argued that the bill hindered access to justice and affected freedom of expression. In effect, the bill proposed creating a crime that punished those who disseminate "intimate" content without authorization. However, the wording of the article was so broad and ambiguous that it could end up affecting freedom of expression. The bill was shelved despite only needing one more debate.

GENDER VIOLENCE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

27/06

Journalist Jorge Méndez was murdered in Tibú, Norte de Santander. Méndez was the administrator of the site "La Gabarra con una mirada diferente," where he disseminated information about La Gabarra and other nearby municipalities. This is the fourth murder of a journalist in Colombia so far this year. According to figures from the Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa [Foundation for Press Freedom] (FLIP), this number had not been reached since 2003.

VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

21/06

The Misión de Observación Electoral [Electoral Observation Mission] (MOE) published a report on the close of the legislative session regarding bills related to political-electoral issues. According to the MOE, of the 57 bills discussed, only 6 were approved (i.e., 72% were shelved). However, it highlighted the approval of a law for transparency and accountability by congress members.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 

27/05

Theorganization Article 19announced that on May 17 of the same year, the Second District Judge in Administrative Matters of Mexico City granted the Court protection known as amparo 1545/2023, resulting from the CNDH's decision to remove Recommendation 26/2006 related to the case from its website and subsequently publish a redacted version of it. The decision has a significant impact, given that the National Human Rights Commission removed 2,540 recommendations from its website and redacted the information.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

23/05

Theorganization R3Dannounced that the Government of Chihuahua decided to withhold technical information about the Centinela Platform, which aims to install a network of 3,000 movable security cameras, 4,000 fixed cameras, 102 vehicle identification arches, aerial surveillance with drones, 40 mobile video surveillance trailers, and the construction of a command center, the Centinela Tower, which will include the installation of facial recognition filters for images collected by the surveillance cameras, as well as other biometric recognition systems.

PRIVACY

30/05

The organizations Article 19 and R3D condemned the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation for upholding the validity of the amendments to the Federal Copyright Law and the Federal Penal Code, in response to the actions of unconstitutionality promoted by the National Human Rights Commission and the Senate of the Republic. The National Supreme Court of Justice made its decision by a vote of 6 to 5, decreeing the validity of the notice-and-takedown mechanism that forces internet service providers to remove any content or publication accused of violating copyright without any proof of the infringement or an administrative or judicial decision on the matter. This is because, according to the highest court, the existence of sanctions and a counter-notice allows for the restoration of the removed material. Furthermore, they also questioned that in this same decision, the National Supreme Court of Justice considered it illegal and even criminal to develop tools or offer services that enable legal circumvention.

COPYRIGHT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

08/06

The Article 19 organizations, Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the threats made by members of the Tlaxcala Attorney General's Office against the director of the newspaper La Prensa de Tlaxcala on June 4th of the same year. The organizations highlighted that the journalist is a beneficiary of the Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. The threat came from an individual who partially exited his vehicle while wielding a gun, later identifying himself as an investigative police officer, and was found to be the brother of another public official who appeared in a news article accused of extortion. According to records of the aforementioned organizations, the journalist has received other threats, the most recent being in May 2024 and September 2023. For this reason, the organizations demanded that the Attorney General's Office of the State of Tlaxcala initiate the corresponding investigation into the threats against the journalist; that the Federal Protection Mechanism ensure the effectiveness of the journalist's protection measures, and that the authorities of the State of Tlaxcala recognize the importance of journalistic work.

VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Theorganization Article 19questioned the decision of the National Supreme Court of Justice made on June 6, dismissing the Action of Unconstitutionality 190/2023 promoted by the National Human Rights Commission against the crime of “Halconeo” in the State of Aguascalientes by deciding not to declare its unconstitutionality. The crime of halconeo came into effect in the State of Aguascalientes on August 8, 2023. It is noteworthy that the judge writing for the court proposed declaring the invalidity of the crime following criteria in similar cases in Chiapas, Michoacán, Guanajuato, and Quintana Roo, however, four ministers decided to dismiss the action of unconstitutionality. The organization urged the National Supreme Court of Justice to decide freedom of expression cases based on the highest standards of freedom of expression and called on local legislatures to repeal the halconeo regulations.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 

14/06

The organizations Article 19 and Red de Periodista de Puebla [Puebla Journalist Network] expressed concern about the information blockade suffered by journalists from Contextos Noticias and Diario Cambio media at the hands of residents of San Jerónimo Coyula on June 11, 2024. The journalists were covering the community detention of four individuals who had committed a robbery and reports of a possible lynching. Therefore, the aforementioned organizations called on the Municipal Government of Atlixco and the Government of the State of Puebla to implement prevention and protection measures for the press, and on the Secretariat of Public Security of the State of Puebla to manage measures to safeguard the integrity of journalists.

VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS

21/06

Theorganization Article 19condemned the actions of the Attorney General's Office of Mexico City and the Executive Commission for Victim Assistance of Mexico City in the case of journalist Humberto Padgett, because they informed him that the investigation file in which he is a victim has been archived since 2022 without his knowledge, and he was detained for insulting authority. Furthermore, a day before, staff from the Executive Commission for Victim Assistance of Mexico City took photos of the journalist without his consent. Therefore, the organization urged the Attorney General's Office of Mexico City to respect the rights of victims and comply with Recommendation 19/2019 from the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City and to keep the investigation active in the case where the journalist is involved as a victim. Furthermore, they called on the Executive Commission for Victim Assistance of Mexico City to investigate the staff responsible for taking photographs of the journalist without his consent.

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

31/05

The National Association of Journalists (ANP) reported that journalists from various media outlets were locked in a room while covering a drill in which President Dina Boluarte participated. The journalists broadcasted from behind a glass and had to wait for the president to leave to take statements. The ANP condemned this action as an obstacle to coverage and mistreatment of journalists, affecting the right to information.

VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS

04/06

The Institute of Press and Society (IPYS) reported that journalists from various media outlets who went to cover activities of President Dina Boluarte and the Minister of Education in the district of La Molina, were cordoned off on a platform to prevent questions to the president. Likewise, the National Association of Journalists (ANP) reported that, as part of a security protocol, the press was prevented from leaving the stage while the president was present. IPYS and the Peruvian Press Council (CPP) rejected these practices, labeling them as obstacles to journalistic work that restrict access to public information.

VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS

12/06

The Congressional Decentralization Commission approved a draft opinion to amend Legislative Decree 829, which regulates the National Institute of Radio and Television of Peru (IRTP), adding a representative of Congress to its Board of Directors. The Press and Society Institute (IPYS), the Peruvian Press Council (CPP) and the National Association of Journalists (ANP) warned that this could compromise the autonomy of the IRTP by allowing political interference in its content. The IPYS legal advisor pointed out that the measure is unconstitutional and contravenes Article 92 of the Constitution, which prohibits congress members from holding other positions during the hours the Congress is in session.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

18/06

The Press and Society Institute (IPYS) described as an attack on freedom of expression the draft opinion approved by the Foreign Relations Committee of Congress that prohibits political activism by civil organizations that receive international cooperation funds, among other purposes. According to IPYS and the National Association of Journalists, organizations defending freedom of expression need to promote political and regulatory changes to fulfill their mission, and the draft opinion would not only prevent civil associations from contracting with the State or participating in public policy debates but also severely affect their autonomy.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The micro newscast La Encerrona broadcasted an audio in which the Minister of the Interior, Juan José Santiváñez, asks to "control" journalist Marco Sifuentes to avoid criticism of his management. La Encerrona pointed out that the audio is from May 17, when the minister took office. Santiváñez, denied that the voice was his and warned that the media might be committing defamation crimes. IPYS and the National Association of Journalists (ANP) rejected the minister's statements and demanded an investigation into the alleged surveillance orders.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION