Ecuador: Proposed constitutional amendment to categorize news media as a public service

cpj.org reported the Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a decision by Ecuador’s highest court that has paved the way for a constitutional amendment that would categorize the news media as a “public service” subject to government regulation.

The Constitutional Court announced on October 31 that the proposed amendment should be decided by the National Assembly rather than by referendum, which the opposition had pushed for, according to news reports. The legislature is dominated by President Rafael Correa’s left-wing Alianza País party, which strongly supports greater state regulation of the news media.

“Rafael Correa has repeatedly used the ‘public service’ argument as pretext to exercise broad regulatory powers over the media and influence news coverage of his government,” said Carlos Lauría, CPJ’s senior program coordinator for the Americas, from New York. “We urge Ecuadoran legislators to modify the proposed constitutional amendment to ensure that it respects international guarantees of freedom of expression.” Read Article

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