Ecuadoran newspaper fined 10 percent of turnover in ongoing dispute with media regulatory agency

In the latest development of the ongoing fight between Ecuador’s media regulatory agency and newspaper El Universo, the news organization has been fined an amount equal to 10 percent of the newspaper’s average monthly revenue over the previous quarter (about US$ 350,000) for alleged noncompliance with government orders.

19/06/2015

In the latest development of the ongoing fight between Ecuador’s media regulatory agency and newspaper El Universo, the news organization has been fined an amount equal to 10 percent of the newspaper’s average monthly revenue over the previous quarter (about US$ 350,000) for alleged noncompliance with government orders.

The Superintendency of Information and Communication (Supercom) considered that El Universo failed to comply with one of the articles of the Law of Communication (LOC for its Spanish acronym) by not publishing a reply to one of its stories with the headline demanded by the government.

“Apparently, legally harassing journalists isn't enough for Ecuadoran authorities--now, they want to write the headlines and articles too,” said Carlos Lauría, Senior Americas Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).