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| ACLU Challenges Puerto Rico COVID19 ‘Fake News’ Laws |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2020
CONTACT: Abdullah Hasan, ahasan@aclu.org
SAN JUAN — The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Puerto Rico today
filed a First Amendment challenge against Puerto Rico’s two recent ‘fake news’ laws. The
laws, one of which was passed in the midst of media coverage critical of Puerto Rico’s
handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, make it a crime to share information the government deems false about emergencies in Puerto Rico, including the current
COVID-19 global pandemic. Violators could face up to three years in jail and a fine of up
to $5,000.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two journalists, Sandra Rodríguez Cotto and Rafelli
González Cotto, who fear that the laws will be used to punish them for their reporting on
the COVID-19 crisis, especially reporting that reflects negatively on the government.
They argue the laws violate their constitutional rights to free speech, free press, and due
process, and are seeking a court order blocking their enforcement.
“The Puerto Rico government passed these statutes, quickly and with no public debate,
in response to various significant events during which the press questioned the
administration’s actions in matters of great public interest,” said plaintiff Sandra
Rodríguez Cotto. “It is during times of crisis, like the pandemic that we now face, that
the people need to receive more information on how its government is operating. The
press must be free to do its job, without fear of government reprisal. These laws place a
significant barrier on the flow of information of public interest, and the debate that must
be allowed".
Puerto Rico’s “fake news” laws passed in 2017 and April 2020. They apply only to speech
about emergency conditions in Puerto Rico and the government’s emergency response
measures and do not require the government to demonstrate that the speaker knew the
speech was false.
“A free and democratic society depends on a free press, especially during times of
emergency,” said Brian Hauss, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy,
and Technology Project. “These ‘fake news’ laws violate the cardinal principle of the
First Amendment, which is that the government cannot be trusted to regulate discussion
on matters of public concern.”
The ACLU argues that the laws violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments because of
their vague terminology and broad sweep, which give journalists far too little guidance
on what may constitute a crime and law enforcement far too much discretion in deciding
whom to prosecute. This chills a great deal of reporting on the COVID-19 crisis and
other emergencies in particular because journalists risk prosecution if the government
disputes the accuracy of their reporting.
“For far too long the people of Puerto Rico have had to tolerate administrations that
legislate in the dark of the night, rendering no accountability to the people, nor
answering to any form of oversight,” said William Ramirez, executive director of
the ACLU of Puerto Rico. “These laws only serve to promote fear in those that
demand answers and clean government. They must be struck down as offensive to the
First Amendment and democratic government”
Although the laws ostensibly apply only to “false information,” the ACLU warns that
they will inevitably suppress a great deal of true information about matters of immense
public concern. The ACLU adds that government. transparency, not censorship, would
be a more effective way to combat disinformation if that is indeed the government’s
aim. The government should start by holding regular press briefings about the COVID19 crisis in Puerto Rico, releasing pertinent records, and explaining its planned course of
action to the public.
Sandra Rodríguez Cotto is the host of the syndicated radio program “En Blanco y Negro
con Sandra” and published the first 11 pages of a Telegram chat between then-Governor
Ricardo Rosselló and his aides, revealing the use of misogynistic language and
descriptions of violence against women. Media coverage of the then-Governor’s chats
led to island-wide protests against the government, with the governor ultimately
stepping down. Her reporting has also exposed the government’s severe undercount of
the numbers of deaths resulting from Hurricane Maria and its failure to distribute relief
aid to earthquake victims.
Rafelli González Cotto has published numerous pieces on the Puerto Rico's response to
the COVID-19 outbreak. His reporting revealed, for instance, that the case fatality rate
published by the Health Department significantly undercounted the actual fatality rate.
Soon after the article was published, the Health Department removed the information
from its website.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court for the district of Puerto Rico.
***
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACLU and its 54 state chapters have filed
over 110 legal actions nationwide to save lives, safeguard the right to vote, protect
abortion rights, and guard against unjustified government overreach. Additional
information on those actions is here: https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/howthe-aclu-is-responding-to-the-pandemic-visualized/.
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