Costa Ricans want more local media to address their information needs; entrepreneurial journalists are rising to the challenge

The Costa Rican media market is dynamic, with more journalists starting their own ventures, providing a template for what a new version of a strong media ecosystem, focused on local needs, can look like.

These media entrepreneurs aim to serve their communities in a country where anti-media rhetoric from President Rodrigo Chaves Robles and reduced income from government funding have caused financial and existential concerns for traditional media.

Four in five people in Costa Rica agree that their country needs more regional and local media. According to Lidieth Garro, a lead researcher for GeoMedios, which maps Costa Rican media, this need is tied to strong local identity.

“The large media organizations’ agenda are very oriented towards the central valley’s agenda, there is no way to address the information needs of communities outside the central valley,” Garro says.

In the past two decades Costa Rica has promoted a policy of decentralization. The country’s 84 cantons each have their own elected government, but this local civic participation is not complemented by sufficient spaces for local communication. In 2019, 30% of the country’s cantons did not have any local media, according to GeoMedios.

Yanancy Noguera, president of the Association of Journalists and Professionals in Communication Sciences, says that while communities are crying out for local media, publishers must transcend service journalism or the replication of national news. Those services can also be provided by local branches of government officials and local organizations, or by other media.

To consolidate a loyal audience and become sustainable, Noguera notes, local media need a unique value proposition.

San Carlos Digital: ‘Putting a face to the news’

When media entrepreneur Marcela Delgado returned to her hometown San Carlos to launch a local news organization, she knew she needed to communicate its value to audiences.

“San Carlos Digital was conceived to cover a niche that was empty at that time [2016]: in-depth reporting, and above all, positive content from the northern area,” explains founder Delgado.

Their editorial agenda leaves aside breaking news and sensationalism. When there is an accident in their region, instead of publishing images of the actual accident, they inform their audience if the road is closed or not. Delgado summarizes their editorial agenda as “purposeful content that informs, that educates, that builds capacity.”

She also adds that the reason why her media micro business – it employs one more person in addition to Delgado – is still running seven years after its founding is because they paid closer attention to website metrics than social media interactions.

Delgado prioritized encouraging readers to build a habit of visiting the website for news. This included starting every single post on social media with a small call-to-action like “more information” or “read the whole story” and the link to the publication. Today, 40% of their traffic is direct, making the outlet less reliable on changing algorithms or the need to use paid promotion.

“The premise is that at least one [story per day] becomes what we ourselves call a ‘tractor-story’ that pulls the others and sustains visits throughout the day,” Delgado explains.

Delgado explains that in most cases ‘tractor-stories’ are those which reflect San Carlos’s traditions, personalities, and culture; the kind of stories that only people from San Carlos can relate to and that no other media in the country would cover. For example, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the lead story was of a well-known member of the community who is also a cancer survivor.

“It has more to do with deepening the news, or putting a face to the news,” Delgado summarizes.

Another important factor in building a faithful audience is her focus on editorial standards and fact-checking.

“In seven years, we have not had to publish a right of reply statement, a clarification, or anything. Our thinking is, ‘We don’t have to arrive first: we have to know how to get there’,” explains Delgado. “We focus more on the quality of the information, rather than throwing something out there as soon as possible. That ensures our credibility.”

A story about an athlete with Down Syndrome from the region, who represented the country in athletics. 

The Voice of Guanacaste: Listening to readers’ requests

In Guanacaste, the northern Pacific province of Costa Rica, another media organization has created strong roots in its region: The Voice of Guanacaste.

Ernesto Rivera, executive director of the publication since June 2023, explains that this regional media of eight employees differentiates itself through its focus on the needs of the local audience, including specific audience segments such as rural workers or young people.

According to The Voice website, of their 110 stories published in 2022, 38% were about communities and service. The team pays attention to the events that directly affect community members, such as the overflow of a river, a forest fire, or an entrepreneurs’ fair, covering them in-depth – and crucially, Rivera says, “listening to what [readers] tell us when they write to us.”

From community-building to sustainability

Operating as a non-profit, The Voice of Guanacaste is sustained by external grants and funding; one example is funding received in May 2023 to support its GuanaData project, which analyzes how public funds are used by local governments.

They also earn revenue from advertising and paid content, clearly marked as such on the website, and focusing on clients that have a relevant connection to the region. Their website also advertises memberships that range from $3-15 per month.

Membership does not give access to any additional content, but members get discounts at stores working with The Voice of Guanacaste and can participate in two editorial meetings each year – an additional chance to have a say in the topics that get attention. For all these revenue streams, the hyperlocal approach and relevance to the community is an important factor behind their success.

San Carlos Digital uses a different funding model: the steady traffic to the website and strong local following ensures that the outlet qualifies for advertising from government institutions. According to Delgado, this keeps the organization financially viable.

Both Rivera and Delgado say that their direct connection with their communities has allowed them to survive in a very competitive media environment. They use limited resources to focus closely on the content their communities value, content they have asked for and which other media are not providing.

“We know that we depend on the audience,” says Delgado. “Obviously, the day we don’t have an audience, the project dies.”

IPI’s media innovation and sustainability work is made possible with support from the European Union, Friedrich Naumann Foundation and ERSTE Foundation.

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WRITTEN BY Oscar Mario Jiménez Alvarado, Fernando Martínez de Lemos, Johanna Rodríguez López, and Tessa Weal

Since adopting a new constitution in 1949, Costa Rica has been a beacon of democratic stability and inclusivity among its Central American neighbors – and the government has carried these convictions into our increasingly digital age. Freedom House ranks Costa Rica as the strongest environment for internet freedom in Latin America and the third best in the world.

Nestled within Costa Rica’s success story as a leader in protecting human rights online is an important lesson: that one government alone cannot adequately defend internet freedom. In Costa Rica, lawmakers, civil society members, public institutions, and private sector actors have worked together to safeguard people’s rights, proving the promise of a multistakeholder approach to good internet governance – both at home, and on the international stage.

Key to realizing the promises of a free and open internet is widespread, reliable, and affordable access. While disparities, like a digital divide between urban and rural users, persist, internet penetration in Costa Rica has jumped from 36.5 percent in 2010 to 82.7 percent in 2021.

The state has played an indispensable role in laying the groundwork for such access, including by writing these rights into core legislation. The national telecommunications legislation, for instance, incorporates universal access and principles of net neutrality. The judiciary has further defended these rights: in 2010, the country’s Supreme Court declared access to the internet a fundamental right, which the government must guarantee and promote.

While essential for holding the powerful to account, words on a page do not, alone, drive progress. So, what does? The answer: achieving meaningful multistakeholder engagement. Cooperation across government bodies and institutions has expanded infrastructure and lessened the digital divide. The state-owned Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) telecommunications company has teamed up with the social security fund (CCSS) to develop connectivity infrastructure for public health establishments. Private actors have also been essential in funding expansion efforts. In April 2022, private internet service provider (ISP) iTellum received permission to be the country’s official supplier of internet via satellite – a turning point for rural areas where other types of internet connections are not feasible. Investment by local and regional internet providers more broadly has diversified and democratized access to in-home fixed internet across the country.

Getting online is only part of the battle. Protecting people’s rights once they’re there is another

The Costa Rican government has regularly defended fundamental constitutional rights that apply to online activities, including privacy, access to information, and freedom of the press. In August 2022, the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber declared the 2019 creation of the Presidential Data Analysis Unit (UPAD) – embroiled in controversy over possible government surveillance since first coming to light in 2020 – unconstitutional. In May 2022, then president Carlos Alvarado partially vetoed the so-called “Gag Law” for limiting access to certain information, which civil society argued would undermine accountability and deter journalists from publishing information in the public interest.

The government has also leaned on a variety of stakeholders to combat newer threats. The Internet Advisory Council of Costa Rica, created in 2012, encourages interdisciplinary cooperation in the development of internet-related policies, featuring regular participation from academia and civil society.

Fearing the impact of misinformation ahead of February 2022 presidential elections, the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) worked with Facebook to create a direct channel of communication enabling electoral magistrates to request that posts containing electoral misinformation be removed. A problematic effort under governments who use such channels to scrub the internet of critical speech during political turning points, the TSE established important safeguards to protect freedom of expression, narrowly targeting content with the potential to undermine individuals’ right to vote – like the posting of inaccurate voting center hours.

Similarly cooperative efforts have been used to combat foreign-sponsored cyberattacks. In June 2022, shortly after major ransomware attacks crippled essential public services and led the government to declare a national emergency, the telecommunications ministry announced a joint effort with state universities to address cybersecurity concerns. The collaboration sought to use the tools and knowledge afforded to universities in managing cyberattacks to inform national cybersecurity capacity: an illustration of the potential of the multistakeholder model in strengthening digital resilience.

A model for internet freedom domestically, Costa Rica has expanded its multistakeholder convictions beyond its borders. As a member of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC), Costa Rica has joined a group of governments committed to supporting and protecting human rights online. In this role, the government has an opportunity to work with likeminded countries to make human rights central to global tech policy.

The state has also urged global reforms to protect online users. Costa Rica became the first country to call for an immediate moratorium on the use of spyware technology in March 2022, situating the Costa Rican government as a needed advocate against a shadowy commercial industry that has for far too long been allowed to run unconstrained.

However, in a world rife with threats to internet freedom and human rights more broadly, Costa Rica’s continued status as a global model for such rights is not guaranteed. President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, who took office in May 2022, has been condemned by international press organizations for intimidating the media. The country’s lack of a complete and up-to-date data protection law also poses a risk, as critics contend that current legislation does not adequately address contemporary challenges such as automated data collection and processing.

Whatever the future brings, however, peers both regionally and globally should learn from Costa Rica’s success. Governments worldwide should support community-based initiatives and promote policies to expand access and build internet infrastructure in underserved areas. Democracies should support online media and foster a resilient information space to combat mis- and disinformation, scaling up financial efforts to support independent outlets and broader civic education and digital literacy initiatives. And, at home and around the world, policymakers should engage further in multilateral forums like the FOC and with a diverse array of stakeholders when crafting legislation or other tech policy. As Costa Rica has shown, the key to strengthening digital resilience lies in the promise of a multistakeholder model.
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Tessa Weal is a Research Associate for Technology and Democracy at Freedom House. Oscar Mario Jiménez Alvarado, Fernando Martínez de Lemos, and Johanna Rodríguez López were contributors to the Costa Rica Freedom on the Net 2022 report. This piece originally appeared in The Costa Rica News.

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The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) called on the Costa Rican justice system for due process, diligence, and transparency in a criminal case against Diario Extra, for which authorities seized the personal telephone and work computer of the newspaper’s general manager.

Iary Gómez, general manager of Sociedad Periodística Extra Ltda., which publishes Diario Extra, denounced that agents of the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) confiscated her phone and computer as part of a lawsuit filed against her by a shareholder of the company. On May 18, Diario Extra headquarters and Gómez’s home were also raided.

IAPA president Jorge Canahuati publicly urged the justice system to face the process in a “framework of transparency, diligence and due process of law.” Canahuati, CEO of Grupo Opsa of Honduras, said: “We are concerned that this action may affect the obligation to keep secret the information received from different sources outside this case.”

Carlos Jornet, chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, added: “Without wishing to express an opinion on the case, we are concerned about the seizure of Gómez’s cell phone and computer, both of which are considered work tools where confidential information, essential for journalistic activity, is stored.”

Canahuati and Jornet recalled the Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which establishes: “Every social communicator has the right to keep his/her source of information, notes, personal and professional archives confidential.”

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Costa Rican authorities must fully investigate the detonation of an explosive device outside the San José offices of television station Teletica and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

A group of unidentified attackers blew up a makeshift explosive device outside the main offices of television station Teletica in San José, the capital, at around 11:30 p.m. on July 27, according to the outlet. Security camera footage released by the station shows three unidentified individuals crossing the street and placing the explosive on the ground, in front of the building. Two minutes after placing the explosive, the men leave the scene, and the device explodes, breaking a glass wall in Teletica’s office, according to the video footage. No one was injured in the attack, according to the report.

An investigative team from the national police, or Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), came to the premises about an hour after the event and announced it was working on the case, according to the daily newspaper La Nación.

“Costa Rican authorities must conduct a thorough investigation into this alarming attack and ensure that Teletica staff have sufficient protective measures to do their jobs safely,” said CPJ South and Central America Program Coordinator Natalie Southwick in New York. “Finding and punishing the perpetrators is the only effective way to prevent further attacks on the press.”

According to Ignacio Santos, director of “Telenoticias,” Teletica’s daily news program, the station has a history of receiving threats, mainly focused on past investigative reporting by him and his team. The OIJ has investigated about 15 threats to the program and individual journalists in the past year, Santos told CPJ.

“This time, for the first time in the history of the news show and the channel, a threat became a tangible action,” Santos said. The journalist said the device–made from a fire extinguisher filled with explosives and an electronic device for delayed detonation–was “unique.”

While the OIJ has not announced any official lines of investigation, the investigators “have found several links that can connect the attack with one that occurred on June 26 at the Legislative Assembly, when three men detonated an explosive in a window of the office of Deputy Zoila Volio,” said OIJ director Walter Espinoza in a press conference published on the official YouTube account yesterday.

In response to a request for comment, the OIJ referred CPJ to Espinoza’s press conference.

Teletica, founded in 1958 as Costa Rica’s first television company, is one of the country’s main national TV stations. The broadcaster operates cable company CableTica and two national TV channels, Teletica Canal 7 and Teletica Canal 33.

Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado condemned the act on his Twitter account. “I vehemently condemn what happened at Teletica. A few cannot intimidate a country to move forward and silence freedom of expression,” Alvarado wrote.

Santos said he viewed the attack as “an isolated event” and celebrated the cohesion and support he has felt from many sectors of Costa Rican society.

“This does not represent the people of Costa Rica; there is enormous support of the press in general. They have managed to unite the Costa Rican press now more than ever,” Santos said.

The Costa Rican Association of Journalists and Communication Professionals (COLPER) condemned the attack. “COLPER will continue its work of defending an independent press that carries out its work without any pressure. We call on all political actors to condemn this cowardly act,” the group said in a statement published on its official Facebook page.

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Costa Rica’s Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court made the ruling Friday (21 March 2014) in the case of Diario Extra journalist, Manuel Estrada, who was targeted by the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) after he wrote an article that criticised the agency.

Following the article’s publication, the Costa Rica Prosecutor’s Office authorised the OIJ to record Estrada’s phone conversations to learn the identity of his sources.

“This is certainly a win for journalists in Costa Rica,” Zach Dyer, a freelance journalist currently working in Costa Rica, said. “But I think it’s also one for bloggers.”

According to Dyer, Judge Ernesto Jinesta Lobo went out of his way in the ruling to mention people who “regularly contribute” to reporting or public opinion as a category outside traditionally defined reporters to whom protection from surveillance applies.

“It’s encouraging to see a more inclusive definition of who is a reporter and under the aegis of constitutional protection from invasive police wire taps or phone record intercepts,” Dyer explained to IPI.

Last month, Estrada told IPI that he had lost a series of sources within the judicial system as a result of the operation.

“They put my journalistic career in danger,” Estrada, who has covered the judicial sector in Costa Rica for the last seven years, told IPI. “Other colleagues [were] worried that the same thing would happen to them.” “I received death threats as a result of this case.”

Estrada told IPI that he is completely satisfied with the Chamber’s ruling.

“I did not expect less from the magistrates, who ruled [on] an extremely important [constitutional case] for myself, the newspaper that I have worked for the last seven years, the country, and the journalist guild, which has been somewhat uncomfortable due to the privacy violation that took place,” Estrada said. “We will continue to inform responsibly with the truth and to protect the sources that trust [us] and that want to report irregularities, not only the ones that pertain to the government.”

However, according to a statement obtained today by Dyer, the Prosecutor’s Office said that the ruling only pertains to journalists and that, as a result, it will continue to investigate anyone outside of the press related to this particular case, including Estrada’s source at the OIJ.

In January of this year, Diario Extra received a 200-page document from an anonymous source detailing the OIJ’s surveillance operation targeting Estrada.

Last month, IPI reported on the case and on how Grupo Extra, the company that owns Diario Extra, had presented a complaint before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court and requested that the phone records collected by the OIJ be destroyed and that further action be taken against the agency.

Last Friday, the Chamber ruled that the surveillance violated the privacy of the reporter, ordered the investigative agency to destroy all recordings pertaining to the investigation and prohibited any government agency from carrying out this type of operation in the future.

The Chamber also faulted the Prosecutor’s Office for having authorised the operation.

Costa Rica, which is generally considered one of the most democratic Latin American nations and to have a higher degree of respect for press freedom among countries in the region, came under fire the last year after the sitting president, Laura Chinchilla, announced that she would sue a social media user for defamation after the person alleged that Chinchilla used her office to profit from a land deal.

The country had a criminal information law that many journalists in Costa Rica feared would have put them at risk of being jailed if they publish “secret” information obtained from possible whistleblowers. The law was blocked by a constitutional complaint and subsequently reformed. The section of concern about journalists risking jail time was eventually removed.

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Reporters Without Borders calls for a parliamentary committee investigation into spying on the San José-based Diario Extra newspaper, which reported at a news conference yesterday [20 January 2013] that the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) and the office of the public prosecutor have been monitoring the private and professional phone calls of its journalists for the past ten months.

“This is very similar to the scandalous seizure of the Associated Press‘ phone records in the United States,” Reporters Without Borders said.

“Such activities violate the confidentiality of the news media’s sources, which is the bedrock of journalism. They jeopardize the safety and work of the journalists concerned and, beyond that, the ability of the press to perform its watchdog role.

“Following the adoption of a computer crimes law that is still very controversial even after being amended, freedom of information has now suffered another serious setback in a country that has traditionally demonstrated a high degree of respect for this freedom.”

Reporters Without Borders added: “Inasmuch as the highest government levels seem implicated in this scandal, parliament should unite the entire political spectrum in a concerted effort to establish the facts and identify those responsible. And the results of its investigation should be made public.”

Accusing the government of practices “worthy of authoritarian regimes,” Diario Extra deputy editor Patricia Hernández said the aim of the spying was to identify government employees who have been acting as whistleblowers.

Diario Extra also reported that it had received threatening calls from OIJ officials and that journalists had been followed when they went to meet with sources. The newspaper intends to refer the case to Inter-American bodies.

OIJ deputy director Gerald Campos said the agency obtained a judge’s permission to investigate an OIJ employee who was suspected of revealing sensitive information about a case of abduction. Divulging confidential information is penalized by article 322-b of Costa Rica’s criminal code.

The US Department of Justice acknowledged in May 2013 that it had obtained the records of calls made a year earlier from 20 of the Associated Press’ phone lines and the phones of some of its reporters. Coming amid a generalized witch hunt against leaks and whistleblowers, the admission revived calls for federal-level protection of journalists’ sources.

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The decision to have UNESCO and the Costa Rican government jointly host World Press Freedom Day celebrations in San Jose, Costa Rica from 2-4 May 2013 was announced on 8 February 2013 by Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla, who lauded her country’s commitment to freedom of expression and press freedom. This year’s conference agenda will focus on the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, with particular attention being paid to Latin America. While some Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Honduras, are among the most dangerous in the world for journalists to operate in, others in the region have made significant advancements in protecting freedom of expression and ensuring the safety of journalists. As Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, explained: “A high visibility event such as World Press Freedom Day will help highlight the achievements made by Costa Rica and by the whole of Latin America in this area and will signal their firm commitment to freedom of expression and press freedom.”

How does Costa Rica compare to other countries?

Costa Rica leads Latin America – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls the country “a beacon of human rights amid the lawlessness often found in Central America” – and fares better at protecting press freedom than many developed democratic nations, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. Costa Rica is ranked 18th in RSF’s 2013 Press Freedom Index, up one spot from 2012, with no journalists, media assistants, or netizens having been killed or imprisoned. Most recently, at the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) on 23 March 2013, Costa Rica joined Colombia, Panama, Uruguay, Mexico, Jamaica, Canada, and the U.S. in voting down Ecuador’s efforts, supported by Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, to reform the office of Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression for the Inter-American Commission on Human rights (IACHR). Ecuador’s proposed reforms would have significantly weakened the role of the Special Rapporteur and its ability operate independently of member state agendas in promoting free expression and protecting journalists in the region.

Have journalists in Costa Rica always enjoyed this level of press freedom?

While Costa Rica’s current standing is encouraging, the government has only recently had debates and enacted reforms to some of its more controversial laws that infringe on freedom of expression and press freedom, particularly in the area of defamation law. A number of journalists, including La Nación‘s Nicolás Aguilar Ramírez and Diario Extra‘s José Luis Jiménez Robleto, were jailed under article 7 of Costa Rica’s 1902 Printing Press Law, which allowed sentences of up to 120 days for journalists, editors and media owners found guilty of criminal defamation and “insults”. Both journalists had their charges dismissed, and the Costa Rican Supreme Court eventually struck down provisions for prison terms for criminal defamation on 17 February 2010.

The Costa Rican government also enacted the controversial Information Crimes Law on 6 November 2012, which provides for prison sentences of up to 10 years for the publication of “secret political information”. Article 288 of the new law included information “from national police bodies or security concerning defence matters or foreign relations,” or that affected “the fight against drug trafficking or organized crime”. Following a public outcry, the government pledged that the new law would not apply to journalists. The Costa Rican Supreme Court eventually suspended the article following a constitutional challenge filed by journalist Randall Rivera, and in April 2013, the national assembly voted on a series of amendments to the bill eliminating the “secret political information” article altogether.

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(RSF/IFEX) – 9 November 2012 – The outcry that has followed the enactment three days ago of Costa Rica’s highly controversial cybercrime law has forced the government into a hasty about-turn. It announced today that the legislation, which provides for up to 10 years’ imprisonment for publishing “secret political information”, would not apply to journalists.

The law is not confined to national security but could also be applied to information “from national police bodies or security concerning defence matters or foreign relations” or which affects “the fight against drug trafficking or organized crime “.

In a statement issued a day earlier, the government promised to amend article 288 of the new law which provides for imprisonment of between four and eight years for anyone “who procures or obtains in an improper way secret political information”.

At the same time, the government pointed out that, under the constitution, it had a precise time limit for the enactment of the law after its approval by the Legislative Assembly.

“Even with the support of this argument, the enactment of such a dangerous law that has had such a harsh reception from all journalists is staggering,” Reporters Without Borders said. “At the same time as a discussion in parliament, there should have been a wide-ranging public debate around the extremely vague notion of ‘secret political information’, much of which is of considerable public interest.

“A piece of legislation that is so at odds with constitutional guarantees regarding freedom of expression and information should have provoked a presidential veto.”

The press freedom organization concluded: “The government should keep its word and ensure the law is amended so that its most repressive sections are scrapped. In our view, this should apply not only to qualified journalists or those employed by media organizations. It concerns every citizen, blogger or writer able to research and produce news and information. In other words, no-one should have to regard this law as a threat.”

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The provisions were eliminated from the Printing Press Law – known as Ley de Imprenta – which imposed prison sentences of up to 120 days for defamation in print media.

The court made the ruling while it was reviewing a defamation case against José Luis Jiménez Robleto, a reporter with the San José-daily Diario Extra, according to local news reports. Jiménez had been accused by a former Costa Rican official after publishing a news story on alleged embezzlement, the press reported. The journalist was sentenced in March 2004 to 50 days in prison based on the outdated 1902 press law. His conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court.

The court’s decision about the press law, issued on December 18, was made public this week. Costa Rican journalists said it was a victory for freedom of the press. The daily La Nación described it as “historic.” The paper’s editor, Armando González, said that the court set an important precedent.

Under Costa Rica’s Penal Code, anyone who libels, slanders, defames, or reproduces offensive statements against someone, even public officials, can be fined or placed on an official list of convicted criminals, but not imprisoned, CPJ research has found.

“We consider the Supreme Court’s decision an important step forward toward what we hope will be the total elimination of criminal defamation in Costa Rica,” said Carlos Lauría, CPJ senior program coordinator for the Americas. “We now urge Costa Rica’s legislative assembly to eliminate defamation provisions from its Penal Code.”

Laws that criminalize speech are incompatible with the rights established under Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which Costa Rica has ratified. As the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated in 1994: “Considering the consequences of criminal sanctions and the inevitable chilling effect they have on freedom of expression, criminalization of speech can only apply in those exceptional circumstances when there is an obvious and direct threat of lawless violence.”

There is growing international consensus that journalists should not be jailed for criminal defamation. In November, the Argentine Congress repealed criminal defamation provisions in the penal code. In April 2009, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Tribunal annulled the 1967 Press Law, a measure that had imposed harsh penalties for libel and slander.

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General Assembly 2008 Country Report: Costa Rica

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