The initiative proposes replacing the current 1962 law with updated legislation compatible with international standards. The Senate formed a special committee that promised to listen to all sectors, emphasizing that the length of the process doesn’t matter, as the goal is to achieve a broadly agreed-upon bill.
The draft Organic Law on Freedom of Expression and Audiovisual Media was sent to the Senate by the Executive Branch at the end of April, as previously anticipated by President Luis Abinader. The proposal seeks to replace Law No. 6132, in force since 1962, with the goal of establishing a modern, democratic legal framework aligned with international standards regarding freedom of expression and access to information.
The Senate formed a special committee of eleven senators to analyze it. Seaking at the committee’s launch, Senate President Ricardo de los Santos called for an open and participatory process.
“It doesn’t matter how many times the committee meets, but the outcome must be based on consensus, after listening to all sectors, including digital media,” De los Santos said.
The bill expressly recognizes freedom of expression in its two dimensions, prohibits prior censorship, and guarantees the protection of sources and journalists’ right to conscientious objection. It also proposes the creation of the National Institute of Communication (INACOM), an autonomous and decentralized regulatory body that will oversee the implementation of the new law.
Among other provisions, the text introduces obligations for large digital platforms—such as Facebook, X, and Instagram—which must have legal representation in the country and ensure compliance with transparency and accountability criteria. It also recognizes audience rights, including those of children and adolescents, in audiovisual services and establishes Internet access as a right.
The draft bill has the support of the Dominican Society of Newspapers (SDD), which stated that it “is the result of a broad process of consultation, technical reflection, and agreement among various sectors of civil society, academia, legal experts, journalists, and media representatives.”
The drafting of the text was led by the Advisory Commission for Freedom of Expression (CCLEX), created by the Executive Branch in 2022. According to its coordinator, attorney Namphi Rodríguez, the initiative seeks to protect both freedom of expression and the rights of digital platform users.
Rodríguez emphasized that the regulatory body will not be empowered to remove content, but rather to require platforms to comply with transparency principles regarding their terms of service and moderation rules, “in order to avoid censorship of individuals on social media.”