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Argentina lower House approves new media ownership laws

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Argentina's Chamber of Deputies approved a bill Thursday that would create new media ownership rules and a new regulatory body to interpret those laws. Argentine President Christina Fernandez De Kirchner said the proposed law, which would limit how many licenses a media company could own as well as its market share, will create a more competitive media. Critics, including the country's biggest media group, Clarin, said the move is directed at suppressing dissent in the country. The bill passed by a wide margin of 147-7, but more than 100 lawmakers walked out in protest before the vote could be taken. The bill will now go before the Argentine Senate. According to news reports, Kirchner blames her 20 percent approval rating and a mid-term election loss on Clarin, which controls 46 percent of the Argentina cable market, and wants to pass the law before losing her Congressional majority in December. Last week, tax agents raided the Clarin newspaper office, and currently, Argentine judges are holding a hearing to determine whether the children of a Clarin director are illegally adopted orphans from Argentina's so-called "Dirty War".

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on September 19, 2009 (boomark / email).