The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) issued a joint statement on Wednesday warning that a bill under discussion in Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly could threaten the financial viability of radio and television broadcasters by imposing a fee on broadcast spectrum usage.
Bill file number 24.461, scheduled for a second review on Thursday, would impose a progressive fee of up to 7.73% of a station’s annual gross revenue for broadcast spectrum usage.
CPJ and IAPA urge that any fee tied to spectrum use should be based on objective, technical and proportional criteria, and should not create conditions that force stations off the air. The statement notes that free broadcast signals remain a critical source of news for households with lower incomes, rural communities and the public during emergencies, elections and natural disasters.
The organizations cited a 1985 opinion by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, ruling that restrictions on media viability amount to restrictions on freedom of expression itself, given that access to information is an individual and a collective right in Costa Rica.
CPJ and IAPA also pointed to a broader decline in press freedom conditions in Costa Rica in recent years, including stigmatizing rhetoric toward journalists and outlets.