The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with more than 50 international and local digital rights organizations and media outlets, joined calls on Honduran lawmakers this week to reject a proposed law that would regulate online speech.
Under the proposed law, internet service providers, online platforms, and their administrators could be required to block information and content that could constitute “acts of discrimination, hate, insults, threats or incitement of violence.” The law does not define what content should be blocked, which critics say leaves it open to interpretation by private companies and individual administrators.
The joint statement said that the proposed law threatens the freedom of expression of human rights defenders, activists, and citizens. A provision that would grant a government body oversight of compliance with the law is “comparable to censorship of media,” the statement said.
The statement to the Honduran Congress can be viewed here.