Internet use in Venezuela is currently not subject to extensive content restrictions, and ONI
testing found no evidence of Internet censorship. However, the announced nationalization
of the country’s largest telecommunications
company, CANTV, and the restrictive general
media policies are fueling concerns that the
Chávez administration could institute Internet
filtering in the near future.
Background
The government of Hugo Chávez is in the
process of consolidating power after a number of
electoral victories and a failed coup in 2002. This
process has taken two forms: undermining judicial independence and wresting greater control
over the media. Judges on the First and Second
Administrative Courts—the courts with jurisdiction over complaints relating to the government’s
administrative actions—are kept as provisional
appointees. In 2005, six judges and their replacements were fired from the two courts for reportedly not passing performance tests. 1 As a result,
these judges continue to be unable to pass judgment without fear of government retribution. As to
the media, the Chávez government has recently
passed two laws meant to restrict freedom of the
press and of expression: the Law of Social
Responsibility in Radio and Television of 2004
and the Criminal Code Reform Law of 2005. The
first law delineates the standards for what is
acceptable to be aired on radio and television
within the country. Stations are threatened with
large fines and broadcasting license suspensions for broadcasts that “condone or incite”
public disturbances or carry messages “contrary
to the security of the nation.” 2
In January 2006, a Venezuelan court
accused ten media outlets of “obstruction of justice” and banned them from reporting on the
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
No evidence
Suspected
Selective
Substantial
Pervasive
Filtering
of filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
Political
●
Social
●
Conflict/security
●
Internet tools
●
Other factors
Low
Medium
High
Not applicable
Transparency
●
Consistency
●
Venezuela
testing found no evidence of Internet censorship. However, the announced nationalization
of the country’s largest telecommunications
company, CANTV, and the restrictive general
media policies are fueling concerns that the
Chávez administration could institute Internet
filtering in the near future.
Background
The government of Hugo Chávez is in the
process of consolidating power after a number of
electoral victories and a failed coup in 2002. This
process has taken two forms: undermining judicial independence and wresting greater control
over the media. Judges on the First and Second
Administrative Courts—the courts with jurisdiction over complaints relating to the government’s
administrative actions—are kept as provisional
appointees. In 2005, six judges and their replacements were fired from the two courts for reportedly not passing performance tests. 1 As a result,
these judges continue to be unable to pass judgment without fear of government retribution. As to
the media, the Chávez government has recently
passed two laws meant to restrict freedom of the
press and of expression: the Law of Social
Responsibility in Radio and Television of 2004
and the Criminal Code Reform Law of 2005. The
first law delineates the standards for what is
acceptable to be aired on radio and television
within the country. Stations are threatened with
large fines and broadcasting license suspensions for broadcasts that “condone or incite”
public disturbances or carry messages “contrary
to the security of the nation.” 2
In January 2006, a Venezuelan court
accused ten media outlets of “obstruction of justice” and banned them from reporting on the
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
No evidence
Suspected
Selective
Substantial
Pervasive
Filtering
of filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
Political
●
Social
●
Conflict/security
●
Internet tools
●
Other factors
Low
Medium
High
Not applicable
Transparency
●
Consistency
●
Venezuela