The impact of the controversial Media Law

Ecuadorian Communication Bill gets approved without debate

After 17 hours the Main Assembly voted for the draft of the Communications Law, with new texts written by the ruling official Mauro Andino, and the president of the Assembly, Gabriela Rivadeneira, who “socialized” the document to the 137 assemblymen by mail.

The Act brings changes like the creation of the Superintendency of Information and Communication, the entity that will be monitoring, auditing, intervening to control, with the power to impose penalties (administrative and economically).

On subsequent liability, the document added, assures that everyone has to bear the consequences of disseminating texts that violate privileges “without prejudice to any civil, criminal or other opinion.” In the case of the media, it adds that messages can only be used in social networks where the issuer of such messages is properly identified, in case of failing to comply with this obligation, it shall have the same liability established for the contents published on its website that are not explicitly attributed to another person.

The controversial media lynching was pointed out in Article 26, which prohibits the dissemination of information, either directly or through third parties, be carried out in a concerted way and published repetitively through one or more media channels to discredit a natural person legally or reducing its public credibility.

Thus, the Superintendence shall, upon the rating of the relevance of the claim, public apology, and publish it as many times as the damaging information was published without prejudice to the authors of the note held accountable for the crimes or damage.

The concession period frequency remains at 15 years and renewable for the same dealer once by a direct extension.