Regarding the relationship between the new government and the press, on August 18, during the ceremony marking the change in leadership of the Federation of Social Communication Media—which brings together press, radio, and television associations and commemorated the 25th anniversary of Law No. 19.733 on Freedom of Opinion and Information and the Practice of Journalism—President Kast expressed his commitment to press freedom. He stated that his government “will never be an obstacle to the media,” highlighted journalism’s role in scrutinizing those in power, and condemned digital harassment of journalists. The remarks came in response to columns and commentary that had questioned the “liberal” character of his administration.
During the same period, the Executive announced the termination of the agreement that funded the Fund for Studies on Pluralism in the National Information System. The Undersecretariat General of Government informed the National Research and Development Agency (ANID) that the corresponding 2026 contribution would not be made, citing the fiscal adjustment plan ordered by the Ministry of Finance through Circular No. 12 of 2026. The fund was established under Article 4 of Law No. 19.733, which provides that the annual Budget Law must allocate resources for studies on pluralism in the national information system. Academics and experts questioned whether this statutory mandate could be left unapplied through administrative action and called for consideration of a ruling by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
Regarding copyright and the use of journalistic content for artificial intelligence, on April 22 the Executive submitted to the National Congress the National Reconstruction and Economic and Social Development Bill (Message No. 018-374), whose Article 8 introduced a new Article 71 T into Law No. 17.336 on Intellectual Property. The provision would have deemed lawful, without authorization or remuneration to the rights holder, certain acts of reproduction, adaptation, distribution, or communication to the public of lawfully published works when carried out for purposes of data extraction and statistical analysis. The measure could have allowed journalistic content to be used to train artificial intelligence systems without a license or compensation to rights holders.
The provision reproduced a proposal from the previous government that had been removed during consideration of the artificial intelligence systems bill in the Chamber of Deputies. The National Press Association (ANP), together with the National Television Association (ANATEL), the Chilean Society of Authors and Composers, and the National Television Council, opposed the provision. The ANP called for its withdrawal or, alternatively, for the express exclusion of journalistic content, arguing that copyright is an important element in the sustainability of journalism and that the exception could weaken media outlets’ negotiating position with technology companies.
On May 13, the Finance Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and subsequently the full chamber rejected the provision. Although the Finance Minister announced the possibility of submitting a new version during the second stage of consideration, the legislation passed by Congress in early August did not include the exception. The debate, however, continues in the bill regulating artificial intelligence systems (Bulletin No. 16.821-19), currently under second constitutional review in the Senate, where an exception for text and data mining could be discussed again.
Regarding the bill known as the “Anti-Leaks” bill or “Gag Law 2.0,” concerning the disclosure of information from criminal investigations, the measure, which amends various laws to strengthen the protection of certain information in criminal proceedings and criminalize its improper disclosure (Bulletin No. 17.484-07), continued through the legislative process. The Senate Constitution Committee completed its detailed review and sent the bill to the full Senate in March. Subsequently, its general debate in the Senate remained pending after a second debate was requested, and on August 4, despite being placed on the agenda, it was not reached for discussion.
The bill provides for criminal penalties for those who, under certain circumstances, provide, disseminate, or disclose information from a criminal investigation, with harsher penalties when the information is subject to confidentiality. The ANP, the Journalists’ Association, ANATEL, the Association of Chilean Broadcasters (ARCHI), and constitutional law experts have warned of the potential impact of these provisions on investigative journalism, particularly when the information concerns matters of public interest. The ANP submitted its observations to Congress. Among the proposals put forward by organizations in the sector is the inclusion of a public-interest clause exempting the disclosure of information of significant social relevance from liability. At the close of this report, the bill remained pending general debate in the Senate.
Regarding government contracting of press-monitoring services and copyright, the dispute over the contracting of clipping services without licenses from rights holders saw progress. Following a complaint filed by the ANP on April 21, the Undersecretariat of Mining, through Exempt Resolution No. 2026-454 of April 28, revoked the resolution approving the terms and the call for public tender ID 732-7-L126 to contract a clipping service. The resolution acknowledged the need to review the application of Law No. 17.336 and its implications for public procurement processes involving press-monitoring services, as well as the appropriateness of modifying the tender terms to ensure compliance. The decision constitutes a relevant precedent, insofar as a government agency formally recognized the relevance of copyright in the public procurement of these services.
Subsequently, the ANP filed complaints regarding other tenders for press-monitoring services issued by public agencies, including the General Treasury of the Republic and the Education Quality Agency. It requested that bidders demonstrate that they hold licenses from the media outlets that own the content, either as an admissibility requirement or as a technical evaluation criterion.
Regarding outstanding payments by the Electoral Service to regional media outlets, delays in payments to media that completed between 95% and 100% of the work involved in publishing electoral lists contracted through purchase orders issued in October 2025, as reported in the previous report, remained unresolved during this period. The situation has a potential impact on the financial sustainability of regional media outlets and their ability to contribute to media pluralism and decentralized news coverage.
Regarding attacks on journalists covering demonstrations, new incidents involving journalists and photojournalists were reported during the period. These included an incident reported by journalists during demonstrations in Santiago on June 3. Similar incidents were also reported in September.
There were also attacks against media crews. On May 26, a team from Canal 13’s morning news program was attacked with stones during a live broadcast in the municipality of San Bernardo. On May 28, a group of hooded individuals threw a Molotov cocktail at a Radio Bío Bío crew covering incidents near Instituto Nacional, with no injuries reported. These incidents occurred amid the lack of progress on the bill on the protection of journalists and communications workers (Bulletin No. 14.964-24), which has been under consideration for more than two years.
Regarding the protection of journalists from surveillance and criminal investigations, on June 30 the Seventh Santiago Criminal Court sentenced former Court of Appeals Justice Juan Antonio Poblete and former Army Intelligence Director General (ret.) Shafik Nazal to five years in prison and permanent disqualification from holding public office for their involvement in the illegal interception, in 2017, of journalist Mauricio Weibel’s communications while he was investigating corruption within the Army. The so-called Topographer Operation was carried out pursuant to a court order in which the journalist’s telephone number was falsely attributed to a foreign national identified as an intelligence agent. Reporters Without Borders described the sentence as historic.s
On July 28, National Prosecutor Ángel Valencia issued Official Memorandum FN No. 967/2026, a mandatory general instruction establishing guidelines for criminal investigations in which journalists or communications workers are victims, witnesses, or defendants. The instruction recognizes journalists as human rights defenders and establishes, among other measures, that prosecutors must refrain from conducting investigative measures intended to identify confidential sources and from using interception, surveillance, or communications-monitoring mechanisms for that purpose. It also provides that, when a journalist testifies as a witness, the journalist must be informed of the right to protect sources and that the Public Prosecutor’s Office must object to questions intended to reveal them.
When a journalist is investigated as a defendant, the instruction provides that less intrusive avenues must first be exhausted and that any intrusive measure must be supported by a technical report assessing its suitability, necessity, and proportionality. It also provides that crimes committed against journalists must be investigated ex officio, taking into account their potential connection to the victim’s professional activity, and establishes administrative liability for noncompliance with these guidelines.
Finally, regarding implementation of Law No. 21.719 on Personal Data Protection, uncertainty over the establishment of the Personal Data Protection Agency continued during the period. On May 19, the Senate rejected the president’s proposed nominees for the Agency’s Governing Board, which received 19 votes in favor and 12 against but failed to reach the two-thirds quorum of incumbent senators required by law. In June, the statutory deadline for making the first appointments expired. The deadline had been established six months before the law’s entry into force, but the Governing Board had not been constituted.
Against this backdrop, the Executive submitted a bill (Bulletin No. 18.623-07) proposing to postpone the entry into force of Law No. 21.719 from December 1, 2026, to December 1, 2027, and to expand the Governing Board from three to five members. As of September 22, the bill was under first constitutional review in the Senate, with “urgent” status.
Unless the bill is approved, the statutory effective date of Law No. 21.719 remains December 1, 2026. This situation continues to create uncertainty for media companies regarding implementation of the law, particularly concerning the authority responsible for enforcing it and the standards governing the processing of data for journalistic purposes.
