I live in Venezuela, in Caracas. But these weeks I am on Christmas vacation visiting friends and family abroad, and I can understand why so many of our people are choosing to leave Venezuela.
Some clarification. Things are actually worse than your post suggests.
The law never intended to limit adult content to certain times. Time limitations would only apply to TV and Radio, which are also controlled by this law. Questionable content on the Internet would be blocked 24/7.
The "single, government-controlled access point" was not part of the same law, and it was finally rejected (I suspect the Chavista legislators realized this was too complicated for the government's techs).
The worse part of the law is that it prohibits any content (on the Internet, Radio or TV) that "creates anxiety among citizens".
Does this include reporting about the 19,133 homicides in Venezuela during 2009? Or about Venezuela having the highest inflation rate in Latin America in 2009? Or about the hundreds of companies that are being expropriated? Or about how the government learnt nothing from the 1999 floods and allowed more than 100.000 to be displaced by the 2010 floods? Or about how people are turned back from public hospitals because there are no bandages or anesthesia or medicines? Or about the millions of dollars that have disappeared in the last 12 years while Chavez and his friends buy huge extensions of land and drive around in Hummers? Or about how Chavez changed the electoral law to secure 60% of the seats in the National Assembly despite achieving only 48% of the votes? Or about how he violated the Constitution by preventing opposition candidates to participate in elections? Or about how he has forced most of the changes the citizens rejected in the 2007 referendum? Or about how his candidate lost the mayorship of Caracas so Chavez then handed all the mayors assets to a person appointed by him? Or about how he has built less housing in 12 years than any previous president did in 5? Or about how his government manipulates the poverty and unemployment indicators? Or about how his personal expenses in 2010 were of more than 21 million dollars?
As a Venezuelan of course I'd be very anxious reading about all that in the press, and I might even realize Mr. Chavez is a fraud who has done more to stay in power than to improve our lives.
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Re: Re:
(untitled comment)
The law never intended to limit adult content to certain times. Time limitations would only apply to TV and Radio, which are also controlled by this law. Questionable content on the Internet would be blocked 24/7.
The "single, government-controlled access point" was not part of the same law, and it was finally rejected (I suspect the Chavista legislators realized this was too complicated for the government's techs).
The worse part of the law is that it prohibits any content (on the Internet, Radio or TV) that "creates anxiety among citizens".
Does this include reporting about the 19,133 homicides in Venezuela during 2009? Or about Venezuela having the highest inflation rate in Latin America in 2009? Or about the hundreds of companies that are being expropriated? Or about how the government learnt nothing from the 1999 floods and allowed more than 100.000 to be displaced by the 2010 floods? Or about how people are turned back from public hospitals because there are no bandages or anesthesia or medicines? Or about the millions of dollars that have disappeared in the last 12 years while Chavez and his friends buy huge extensions of land and drive around in Hummers? Or about how Chavez changed the electoral law to secure 60% of the seats in the National Assembly despite achieving only 48% of the votes? Or about how he violated the Constitution by preventing opposition candidates to participate in elections? Or about how he has forced most of the changes the citizens rejected in the 2007 referendum? Or about how his candidate lost the mayorship of Caracas so Chavez then handed all the mayors assets to a person appointed by him? Or about how he has built less housing in 12 years than any previous president did in 5? Or about how his government manipulates the poverty and unemployment indicators? Or about how his personal expenses in 2010 were of more than 21 million dollars?
As a Venezuelan of course I'd be very anxious reading about all that in the press, and I might even realize Mr. Chavez is a fraud who has done more to stay in power than to improve our lives.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by retrox.
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