Miami (August 26, 2026) — The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) express deep concern over a bill to be debated tomorrow in the Legislative Assembly to amend Costa Rica’s Radio and Television Law. They warn that a disproportionate financial burden that could force media outlets off the air would pose a serious threat to media pluralism and the public’s right to seek, receive, and impart information.
The legislative initiative, Bill No. 24,461, scheduled for a second debate tomorrow, establishes a progressive fee for over-the-air television that could reach 7.73% of annual gross revenues, according to the text of the bill reviewed by the organizations.
The IAPA and CPJ recognize the Costa Rican state’s authority to regulate the use of the radio frequency spectrum and to establish a reasonable fee for the use of a public resource. However, they consider it essential that any such financial burden be based on objective, technical, proportionate, and transparent criteria, and that it does not directly or indirectly creates conditions that make media operations economically unviable.
Teletica, one of the media outlets that would be affected by the measure, warned that, if the reform takes effect as proposed, the new fee will jeopardize the economic viability of its over-the-air television operations.
The concern is particularly significant given the consequences that taking radio and television stations off the air could have for segments of the population that rely on free signals to access news, public-interest content, and information during emergencies.
The IAPA President Pierre Manigault, head of Evening Post Publishing Inc. in Charleston, South Carolina, said: “When a regulatory decision threatens the viability of over-the-air radio and television broadcasters and deprives the public of a free source of information, it goes beyond business concerns and directly affects freedom of expression. A democracy needs more voices, not disproportionate conditions that could silence them.”
The organizations recalled that, in its Advisory Opinion OC-5/85, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights established one of the fundamental principles of the inter-American system: freedom of expression has both an individual and a social dimension. Article 13 of the American Convention protects not only the right of an individual or a media outlet to express, seek, and disseminate information, ideas, and opinions, but also society’s collective right to seek, receive, and know them.
In paragraphs 30 to 34 of that Advisory Opinion, the Court held that when freedom of expression is illegitimately restricted, the harm affects not only the person attempting to express themselves, but also those who have the right to receive such information and ideas. The Court also established that expression and its dissemination are indivisible, and that restricting the ability to disseminate information constitutes, to the same extent, a limitation on freedom of expression.
This principle is particularly relevant when examining the legal and economic conditions imposed on media outlets. As the Court itself noted, media outlets make the exercise of freedom of expression possible, and the conditions under which they operate must therefore be compatible with that right. The Court also emphasized the essential importance of media pluralism, along with the protection of journalists’ freedom and independence.
CPJ's Regional Director for the Americas, Jose Zamora, said: “A law that puts the viability of radio and television outlets at risk directly threatens freedom of expression and the public’s right to be informed. Costa Rica must ensure that spectrum regulation is reasonable and does not become a potential tool to silence the press.”
Chair of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information and Editorial Director of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), Martha Ramos, said: “Freedom of expression is not protected solely by preventing direct censorship. It also requires preserving conditions that allow media outlets to exist, operate independently, and effectively reach their audiences. If an economic or regulatory measure ultimately makes it impossible for an over-the-air television outlet to continue operating, the harm is not limited to that outlet: society as a whole suffers because the sources of information available to the public decrease and the pluralism that every democracy needs is weakened.”
Over-the-air television and radio stations also serve a particularly important social function. Because they do not require a paid subscription, they remain an accessible source of information for lower-income households, rural communities, and older adults, and play an important role during emergencies, natural disasters, elections, and events of public interest.
Costa Rica has a long democratic tradition and a strong record of respect for freedom of expression that must be preserved. However, in recent years, IAPA and CPJ have documented a significant deterioration in the conditions for exercising press freedom in Costa Rica, characterized by stigmatizing rhetoric toward media outlets and journalists, as well as an adverse climate for pluralistic public debate.
The IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.
The CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. It defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
