Chilean Congressional Report Calls for Advertising Law Reform
NEW YORK—The Chilean congress last week approved the findings of a congressional investigation on government advertising practices and called on the government to reform the sector.
A bipartisan investigative committee, established in June 2006, found serious shortcomings in the way government advertising is allocated among Chilean media and other beneficiaries. The committee's unanimous report criticized the lack of transparency in government advertising spending and expressed concern that the bulk of such spending is concentrated among a handful of national print and broadcast media. Small and regional media, in particular, find themselves largely excluded, in practice, from government ad contracts. The committee called on the government of President Michelle Bachelet to develop and present a proposal for a comprehensive reform of advertising laws and policies.
The Chilean group Pro Acceso, in partnership with the Open Society Justice Initiative, provided ongoing assistance and expertise to the congressional investigation. Moises Sanchez, director of Pro Acceso, welcomed the report's recommendations: "The government should use fair and transparent criteria in allocating advertising, and make sure its ad practices do not harm media pluralism. The current ad regime is clearly in need of reform," said Sanchez.
Abusive government advertising and other forms of soft censorship are among the most serious problems facing independent media throughout Latin America. A forthcoming multi-country survey, to be published by the Justice Initiative and its regional partners in 2008, documents the extent of government misuse of its financial and regulatory powers to suppress critical voices. In recent years, Peru has adopted modest advertising regulations, whereas other national governments and municipal authorities, including those in Argentina, are considering more comprehensive reforms.
The Chilean government has an opportunity to lead the way in promoting democratic guarantees in this area. It should also address credible allegations that municipal officials and certain public companies abuse their advertising leverage to interfere with media content and editorial autonomy.
The investigative committee held 29 sessions in which it heard a diverse range of perspectives from media, government and civil society representatives, including experts on media, public procurement, and other issues. In December 2006, Pro Acceso and the Justice Initiative facilitated a committee hearing with a delegation of foreign experts, who discussed best practices in regulation of government advertising.
One of the report's central recommendations was that the government should find ways to reduce the excessive degree of discretion in the allocation of ad contracts, and ensure a more pluralistic sharing of the advertising pie.