Freedom of Expression
Costa Rica
PRINCIPLE 13 OF THE DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION (Indirect violations of the freedom of expression)
25. During the month of May 2004, the Office of the Special Rapporteur received information that the government had decided not to place public announcements in the daily newspaper La Nación,[1] which may have been a reprisal for that paper’s critical attitude.[2] The Office of the Special Rapporteur recalls that the American Convention prohibits restrictions on the freedom of expression by indirect means.
[1] Asked by the press, then-Minister of the Presidency Ricardo Toledo asserted that the definition of investment in media was based on “scientific criteria” related to credibility, circulation, and price (he noted as means of measurement a survey of the Internet search engine Google, measurements of the Office of the Presidency, as well as the unit price of a page). Those criteria were refuted by the National Chamber for Measurements of the National Institute of Advertising and other specialists in advertising.
[2] La Nación, “Gobierno justifica distribución de su propaganda en medios,” May 28, 2004, at: www.nacion.com, La Nación, “Refutan criterios de Gobierno para pautar su publicidad,” June 1, 2004, at: www.nacion.com.