Spanish
Santo Domingo.- The former president of the Republic and leader of the Fuerza del Pueblo, Leonel Fernández, described as structurally deficient and inconsistent the Organic Law Project on Freedom of Expression and Audiovisual Media, submitted by the Executive Branch to the National Congress.
In his column published this Monday in the newspaper Listín Diario, Fernández argued that, although the initiative seeks to update the current legal framework —composed of scattered regulations such as Law 6132 of 1962 and Regulation 824 of 1971—, the new project lacks an adequate structure and does not contemplate the technological and communicational changes that have transformed the media ecosystem in the 21st century.
“The object and scope of the legislative piece consists of regulating freedom of expression,” he pointed out, warning that it should not only encompass traditional print and audiovisual media, but also digital platforms and social networks, which currently concentrate a large part of public communication.
Likewise, he criticized that the project does not clearly define the rights and obligations of the different actors in the audiovisual ecosystem, nor does it establish effective mechanisms to address phenomena such as disinformation, hate speech, or digital violence.
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Fernández called for a serious and in-depth reflection on freedom of expression in the digital age, warning that it is an essential right for democracy, which cannot be regulated superficially or anachronistically.
