CD media bill door to big brother propaganda

BILL 465, which seeks to  force the media to publish “educational, cultural and electoral” messages opens the door to political propaganda  say opponents.

“It inhibits freedom of expression  insofar as it forces television, radio and print to publish messages determined by the  state, says Catalina Botero, a former expert on freedom of expression for the Organization of American States.

“We do not know a single democratic state in which the government can force the media to issue content that can be easily designed by government agencies with contents of political propaganda,” she argued.

The Forum of Journalists for Freedom of Expression, the National Council of Journalism and the

Panamanian Association of Broadcasting also questioned the initiative, presented in the National Assembly by CD Deputy Noriel Salerno.

They agree that the bill violates a series of basic principles enshrined by the Inter­American Commission on Human Rights.