Aspects of Ecuador’s new communication regulations

The new law, which will add to the current body of communications regulations, contains good ideas, but it has also received numerous criticisms from civil society and international organizations. The implementation of the law will present both problems and opportunities.

By Analía Lavin, Association for Progressive Communications (APC).

Until recently, communications laws in many Latin American and Caribbean countries were grounded in an obsolete vision of communications media, and in many cases, they ignored, or addressed only superficially, the technological and social changes that our countries have experienced in the past few years. Against this background, communications law has become an increasing priority on government agendas, and countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia have proposed legislation addressing this situation. Recently, Ecuador added itself to this list; in June, the Assembly passed a new Organic Communications Law, and the President ratified it. Read Article