The Price of Silence: The Growing Threat of Soft Censorship in Latin America

This report examines a growing trend in Latin America: behind-the-scenes government interference with media freedom and editorial independence. These abuses, characterized as “soft censorship,” remain largely invisible to the general public, while casting a long, insidious shadow on free expression. In particular, this report documents government abuses of financial and regulatory powers over the media, such as those related to advertising and licensing processes, as well as other content-based interferences.

It also describes forms of government pressure that may be very powerful and direct—such as ultimatums to fire vocal journalists—but which have remained unexposed and unchallenged. The study catalogues abuses in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, and Uruguay.

The Price of Silence: The Growing Threat of Soft Censorship in Latin America was jointly produced by the Association for Civil Rights (Argentina) and the Open Society Justice Initiative (New York). Country-specific research was conducted by the Freedom of Press Foundation (Colombia), Pro Acceso (Chile), the Institute of Press and Freedom of Expression (Costa Rica), the Press and Society Institute (Peru), the Uruguayan Press Association, and local researchers in Honduras.

The complete report and an executive summary are available for download.