Newsletter-Argentina: Concerns over deregulation of the media

Since Mauricio Macri became President of Argentina on 10 December, the regulatory framework for communications has been subject to major transformations.   The relevant minister and secretaries have criticised the Audiovisual Communication Services Act, ( Media Act), as it defends the self-regulation of the information market. This should be seen in the context of the burgeoning alliance between the current government and the major communications media which, led by the Clarín Group, have put forward numerous objections to this law since it was approved in 2009. The initial effects of deregulation have begun to be seen, for example in the acquisition of the cell-phone company Nextel by Clarín and in the dismissal of conflicting voices, such as that of the opposition journalist Víctor Hugo Morales.