2. Regional Context in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean

2.1 International Framework of Human Rights

The target countries of our study are part of the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights (IHRS). Under this context, they are signatories to the American Convention on Human Rights (San José Pact, hereinafter ACHR)¹ and other instruments that expand the substantive spectrum of fundamental rights, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) or the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Of particular interest for this study, the ICESCR, as an international norm, has been responsible for promoting democratization in access to information and the use of information and communication technologies for the inhabitants of the region.

This, in harmony with Article 13 of the ACHR, which establishes the right to freedom of thought and expression, which implies the freedom to seek, receive and disseminate information and ideas of all kinds, without consideration of borders and by any means.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) has also played a central role in determining the substantive and procedural level of protection of these freedoms and rights. In the consultative opinion OC-5/85 of 1985, it was established for the first time that freedom of expression includes the right to seek and receive information, which laid the groundwork for the subsequent development of access to information as an autonomous right in the Inter-American System². In 2006, the IACHR determined the scope of the right to access to information, with special emphasis on the positive obligations that States have to guarantee it, and which grant them the mandate in these areas.

In the cases Bronstein v. Peru³, and Herrera Ulloa v. Costa Rica⁴, the IACHR weighed the scope of freedom of expression, as well as access to information and the role of the media, which today can be extrapolated to digital ecosystems through which interactions are generated and information flows for the benefit of society and individuals.⁵

In terms of these rights and freedoms, the region summarizes its context in: a) the constitutionalization and protection of access to information in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries; b) determining the scope, limits and limitations of freedom of information and expression; and c) the extra-legal challenges related to the provision and guarantee of these freedoms and rights, mainly due to issues of digital divide (protection of the right to telecommunications) and authoritarian exercise of power.

With regard to this, the idea of a constitutional heritage in Central America and the Caribbean in constitutional terms⁶ has recognized that, when it comes to regulations and history, the countries of this region have more points of agreement than differences. This has led to the fact that, in the case of rights such as access to information and telecommunications, as well as freedom of expression and their processes of recognition and protection, they have also attended similar periods and movements.

However, not all people have the same reality when it comes to freedom of access to information and freely exercising their ideas on digital platforms. This clearly generates contrasts that go beyond normative ideals and problematize the effectiveness of these fundamental guarantees for life in democracy in everyday life.

As explained before, these are elements that form part of the conventionality block to which States in the inter-American region are obligated. In fact, inter-American jurisprudence has established the obligation of countries in this matter to adapt their internal legal systems to international standards in terms of access to information, taking as fundamental premises: (I) removing legal or administrative obstacles that hinder access to information, (ii) promoting the implementation of the right to access within all entities and authorities that comprise it - through the adoption and implementation of standards, procedures and training of authorities in terms of custody, administration, filing and supply of information-; and (iii) in general terms, adopting a public policy favorable to the full exercise of this right.

In fact, as the Inter-American Court has explained, States must have an adequate legal framework for the protection of the right to access to information, and must guarantee the effectiveness of an adequate administrative procedure for the processing and resolution of information requests, with clear deadlines for resolution and delivery of information, under the control of properly trained officials in this matter.⁷

This is integrated into freedom of expression as a basic guarantee of democracy and under a human rights approach. In this regard, the Court has established the relevance that this freedom has for the legal systems and political systems of the continent: Freedom of expression is a fundamental element on which the existence of a democratic society is based. It is indispensable for the formation of public opinion. It is also a prerequisite for political parties, unions, scientific and cultural societies, and in general, those who wish to influence the collective to be able to develop fully. It is, in short, a condition for the community, when exercising its choices, to be sufficiently informed. Therefore, it is possible to affirm that a society that is not well informed is not fully free.⁸

The conditions and possibilities associated with freedom of information are thus linked to a reality of fundamental rights and democracy. In summary, the pronouncements of the Court have established that these rights are not only individual guarantees, but also essential conditions for informed citizen participation and the full exercise of other political and social rights. In this way, the effective protection of these freedoms requires specific actions by States, but adjusted to international parameters.

Although it is a phenomenon composed of multiple factors, this study focuses attention on what the regulatory conditions are of the selected Spanish-speaking countries in the Central America and Caribbean region in the face of digital platforms. Mainly, with respect to their development and operation, as well as the impact that this has on guarantees and freedoms of information for their inhabitants and confronted against the protection of human rights that the UNESCO Guidelines for the governance of digital platforms seek to promote.

Various reports have pointed out in general that Latin America presents deficiencies in regulating to protect the relationships between users and digital platforms, as well as the scope and functioning of these.⁹ Jurisprudence and specific studies reflect that some States still present difficulties in guaranteeing minimum aspects of these rights.

This could be related to state limitations in service provision or, failing that, to democratic declines that put access to information at risk.¹⁰ That is, it is a regional context with legal tensions in the recognition and protection of guarantees and freedoms in these types of digital information ecosystems. Multiple reports have been made before on the crisis that some Central American countries are facing in terms of these rights and freedoms.¹¹

2.2 Connectivity and Internet Access in the Region

Some general data serve as context to know that reality, although it should not be overlooked that the region also faces difficulties regarding its availability and accessibility. Several studies have gathered information about the status of some indicators related to the topic.

One of the first examples is the data available about the number of internet users compared to the population by country. Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico are above the Latin American average. However, the rest of the Central American countries appear to have a smaller number of users compared to the Latin American average.

The literature has repeatedly emphasized the importance that access to and use of the internet as a source of information has, especially in the context of digital ecosystems.¹² In fact, in countries like Costa Rica, access to the internet is a human right, actionable before its Constitutional Court.¹³

Although a smaller number of users would not necessarily represent a misinformed society, those countries with a lower value on this index could reflect difficulties in guaranteeing access to networks and communication platforms, as well as an obstacle to the development of digital and information literacy for the benefit of its inhabitants.

Chart 1. Percentage of users using the internet with respect to the total population in Central American countries, 2023.

According to the Digital 2025: Global Overview Report prepared by Simon Kemp of DataReportal, on average, 66.6% of the total population in Central America uses digital platforms and the internet. This represents 84.1% with respect to users in the region who use the internet.¹⁴

For its part, the Latinobarometer has included since 2020 a variable to understand public perception about the use of digital networks and platforms in the political context. The results of the study show similarities between countries with different political regimes. For example, in Costa Rica (full democracy) and Nicaragua (authoritarian regime) almost half of the respondents said that social networks are not useful for participating in politics.

Although these are societies and political conditions with divergent contexts, their populations perceive the use of digital platforms for these purposes similarly. In contrast, the Dominican Republic (40.4%), El Salvador (30.7%), Guatemala (20.2%), and Mexico (19.6%) present a more oriented citizen perception towards the compatibility of social networks with their use for political participation.

Table 1: Percentage perception about the use of social networks in politics, by country. 2020.

Which of these statements do you identify with?	CRC	DOM	SLV	GUA	MEX	NIC	PAN
Social networks allow one to participate in politics.	17.4	40.4	30.7	20.2	19.6	15.6	17.0
Social networks create the illusion that one is participating in politics.	24.8	17.1	22.1	15.2	24.8	9.8	22.1
Social networks are not useful for participating in politics.	49.3	30.0	32.8	37.1	36.2	51.4	44.8
Don't know.	7.3	10.1	11.1	23.6	18.2	18.6	13.8

Source: Latinobarometer Corporation. (2020). 2020 Report. https://www.latinobarometro.org/latOnline.jsp

In that same study, people were asked about the means through which they mainly express their opinions about the country's problems. In 2020, 8.4% of people indicated that social networks were the space in which they manifested these issues. At that time, digital platforms held the last place among the different possible categories. But, by 2024, the number rose to 9.9% and these networks displaced social mobilization and collective actions from their position.¹⁵

2.3 Freedom of Expression and Platform Governance in the Region

In terms of freedom of expression, the countries also present asymmetries. To measure this indicator, reference is made to the Varieties of Democracy database (commonly known as V-Dem) and the visualizations processed by the University of Oxford in Our World in Data.

These are expert estimates on the extent of freedom of expression and press, measured on a scale of 0 (lower) to 1 (higher). The societies of the countries in the region interact on digital platforms to express themselves, influence politics and generate collective debate; but social networks also reflect the freedoms of democracy according to their particular contexts.

Chart 2. Freedom of expression index in Central American countries, 2024.

The UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms have as their central objective to safeguard freedom of expression, access to information and other human rights during the regulation of digital platforms. To achieve this, they propose a governance system with a multistakeholder approach that respects human rights and promotes processes of content moderation and curation based on risk mitigation.

By delineating the responsibilities of States, digital platforms, intergovernmental organizations and civil society, these guidelines can function as a standard or essential point of reference for analyzing the status of digital platform regulation in the Central America and Caribbean region. Specifically, they serve as a valuable resource for policymakers and regulatory bodies in the region to identify legitimate objectives and evaluate policies, and for civil society to advocate for regulation that protects human rights in the face of digital ecosystem challenges.

Regarding the governance of digital platforms and the development of information freedom in digital spaces in the region, the Guidelines clearly prioritize a human rights approach and a people-centered model. The Spanish-speaking countries of Central America and the Caribbean that are the subject of this report present contrasts in these realities; not only in terms of connectivity, usability and access, but also on the characteristics of legal systems and political systems that contextualize these conditions.

Therefore, regulatory approaches require understanding of the dynamics, difficulties and particularities specific to the region and its inhabitants. For example, in this matter, another of these challenges is digital autonomy or sovereignty and regulatory measures to ensure it.

A recent UNDP publication revealed that Latin America and the Caribbean only hosts 4.8% of data centers and infrastructure globally; and, with respect to that percentage, in Central America only 5% is located.¹⁷ That is, Latin American countries do not have sufficient autonomy to host the data and information of users residing in the region. This is aggravated in the case of Central Americans, since the isthmus concentrates a very low portion of this infrastructure, which is vital for minimum guarantees in the treatment of information and the hosting of data on digital platforms.

It is possible to summarize that the region has a context in which a framework of fundamental rights associated with freedom of information and freedom of expression is protected at the conventional level, as well as the guarantees and services to which States are obligated so that access to these platforms is a reality in the daily life of citizens.

The recognition from the conventionality block is long-standing, but its development at the national level and its adjustment in the face of contemporary realities requires evaluation. This study will delve into the regulatory status of Central American countries, with respect to citizen guarantees and freedoms on digital platforms, the development of independent authorities and information ecosystems that promote harmony in their functioning with the full exercise of human rights. It will also be of main interest to know the role assumed by the State in providing its inhabitants and platforms with substantive and procedural provisions and their alignment with a fundamental rights approach.