The draft new telecommunications and broadcasting law, submitted by President Claudia Sheinbaum to the Senate for discussion, will prohibit radio and television licensees and digital platforms from broadcasting political propaganda from foreign governments in Mexico.
Broadcast and pay-TV companies that broadcast such propaganda would be sanctioned with fines equivalent to up to 5% of their revenue, although it has not yet been established whether the penalty would be based on monthly revenue or annual billing, according to Article 276 of the bill.
Article 210 of the still-in-progress Telecommunications and Broadcasting Bill also establishes that licensees in Mexico may only broadcast propaganda from third countries for tourism or cultural purposes; otherwise, the reversal of concessions or the temporary blocking of digital platforms would be considered.
“Concessionaires providing restricted radio, television, or audio broadcasting services in the country may not broadcast political, ideological, commercial, or any other type of propaganda from foreign governments or entities, with the exception of tourism or cultural promotion (…) Digital platforms whose content is available in the national territory may not market advertising space for the dissemination of advertising, propaganda, or any information from foreign governments,” the article states.
President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo is thus responding to a US government audiovisual campaign against illegal immigration that aired on Mexican television and on internet platforms with a presence in Mexico, such as YouTube.
The advertisements were broadcast by US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Mexican television to warn of deportations of undocumented immigrants who do not voluntarily leave the country.
“Let me deliver a message from President Trump to the world: If you are considering entering the United States illegally, don’t even think about it. If you come to our country and break our laws, we will hunt you down… Criminals are not welcome in the United States,” Kristi Noem said in the prime-time spots.
The ads sparked a storm of criticism against broadcasting licensees that reached the President of the Republic, who heeded the complaints and then included Section 210 in the new telecommunications legislation currently being discussed in Congress. Previously, President Sheinbaum described these advertisements as a series of “discriminatory messages” that “attack human dignity.”
If these regulations are violated, Article 109 of the new telecommunications and broadcasting law also opens the possibility that the platforms may be blocked “for failure to comply with the provisions or obligations set forth in the regulations applicable to them.”
Source: eleconomista
