Freedom of expression and digital media bill submitted

President Luis Abinader today submitted to the Senate the bill that will regulate freedom of expression and digital media, according to an official press release.

According to the document shared with this media outlet, the Executive Branch's legal advisor , Antoliano Peralta, indicated that this is an initiative involving various civil society actors, the media, and prominent legal experts in the field, with the goal of creating a modern and democratic legal framework.

In the letter submitted to the National Congress, President Abinader emphasizes that the bill "aims to regulate freedom of expression in all its forms (print media, radio, television, public performances, and social media); to safeguard the right to social communication and journalism."

Likewise, efforts are being made to protect the right of access to information and to create the National Institute of Communication ( Inacom ) as the regulatory body for the exercise of these fundamental rights in the country.

Furthermore, the president emphasizes in his letter, addressed to Ricardo de los Santos as President of the Senate, that national and international experts with extensive experience in the field participated in its drafting, familiar with both the legal thinking that underpins these freedoms and the practice of journalism and communication in its various forms.

"The bill we are now submitting takes into consideration the jurisprudential and doctrinal developments that have been so important in recent decades and seeks to adapt our legal system to the most democratic and safeguarding practices. Therefore, I submit this bill for your consideration, hoping that the honorable legislators will approve it," the president added.

Commission

Antoliano Peralta recalled that, in June 2022, President Abinader formed a commission of experts composed of Namphi Rodríguez, who served as its executive director; Miguel Antonio Franjul, Inés Aizpún Viñes, Persio Maldonado, Luis Eduardo Lora Iglesias (Huchi), Edith Febles Batista, Eric Raful Pérez, Hermógenes Acosta de los Santos, Miguel Ángel Prestol González, Jimena Conde Jiminián, Aurelio Henríquez, Elvira Lora Peña, and Gabriela Beltré.

Months later, the commission submitted a first draft , which was subject to debate, study and consideration, and was sent by the Executive's Legal Consultancy to the commission itself.

• Following the incorporation of various improvements and the adaptation of several points to the current legal system, the final version was sent on April 24, 2025 to the President of the Republic and is now being submitted to the National Congress, in compliance with the commitment made by the Government to promote regulatory improvements to strengthen the social and democratic rule of law .

Read more

TOPICS -