New York, December 22, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the passage of a new broadcast law in Uruguay today, which has strong guarantees for freedom of expression and forbids censorship. The law, which was introduced in May 2013 by President José Mujica, is aimed at regulating radio and television with the goal of creating a diverse and competitive broadcast system, according to news reports. The law awaits Mujica’s signature before he leaves office on March 1, 2015.
“We applaud Uruguay’s new broadcast law, which stipulates that direct and indirect pressures exerted on journalists are incompatible with freedom of expression,” said Carlos Lauría, CPJ’s senior program coordinator for the Americas. “The transparent and inclusive process in which the law was drafted is encouraging at a time when some democratically elected governments in Latin America are using legislation to stifle dissent and control the flow of information.”
The new law stands in contrast to the Communications Law in Ecuador, which has severely damaged press freedom in that country since it was implemented in that country in 2013, CPJ research shows.