Executive Summary
The main objective of this report is to map and analyze the existing legal and regulatory framework in seven Spanish-speaking countries of Central America and the Caribbean (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Dominican Republic) regarding the governance of digital platforms. Through this diagnosis, the level of alignment of national regulations with the principles and recommendations of UNESCO's Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms is evaluated, in order to identify gaps, challenges and opportunities to build an ethical, inclusive digital ecosystem that respects human rights.
The analysis reveals a profound dichotomy in the region: although the seven countries have solid constitutional design that protects freedom of expression, prohibits prior censorship and enshrines the privacy of communications, the operational and regulatory reality presents critical gaps. Most of the States analyzed lack a comprehensive legal framework that regulates digital intermediaries and lack robust personal data protection laws applicable to the private sector (with the exception of Mexico and Panama). Faced with this gap, authorities often resort to sectoral, reactive and frequently punitive approaches (such as applying analog criminal laws to digital environments), moving away from the model of shared responsibility and proactive transparency promoted by UNESCO.
Furthermore, the institutional design of the region shows deficiencies in terms of regulator autonomy. The agencies in charge are usually subordinate to the Executive Branch. This scenario is exacerbated by recent setbacks, such as the dissolution of autonomous bodies for transparency and telecommunications in Mexico, or the persistence of exception regimes and state surveillance in El Salvador, which creates an inhibitory effect on civic space and journalism.
In the electoral sphere, the emergence of social networks, microsegmentation and generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) have exceeded the technical and legal capacities of most electoral courts, leaving regional democracy highly vulnerable to disinformation. Panama stands out as a positive exception, being a pioneer in criminalizing massive manipulation through bots and deepfakes.
To validate these findings and chart a roadmap, training and co-creation workshops were held on December 8 and 9, 2025 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, led by the I4T Knowledge Network and UNESCO, under a multi-stakeholder approach with the participation of electoral authorities and regulatory bodies from all countries covered by the report (except Guatemala, which was unable to participate) and regional and national civil society entities.
From these dialogues emerged clear strategic priorities that serve to chart a roadmap for the coming years: the need to transition from content moderation to regulation of processes and algorithms; the urgency of demanding "linguistic sovereignty" that requires platforms to moderate while respecting local idioms and indigenous languages; and the innovative proposal to use banking and tax authorities to exert coercive pressure on technology corporations ("follow the money").
Finally, it was concluded that countries in the region lack individual market power to negotiate with Big Tech, so the creation of a unified regional bloc is imperative to demand accountability and protect human rights in the digital ecosystem.