Mexico City, Oct. 28, (dpa/GNA) – Nicaragua’s National Assembly on Tuesday passed a controversial law on cybercrime, which the opposition sees as aiming to silence critics of President Daniel Ortega’s government.
The legislation, approved with 70 votes in favour and 16 against, establishes prison sentences of two to four years for people who disseminate “false or misrepresented information” online.
The government says the law facilitates the fight against fraud, the violation of data security and the dissemination of confidential information.
But critics are concerned that former revolutionary Ortega, who has governed the Central American country since 2007, could use it to repress opponents.
A protest wave that started in April 2018 triggered a crackdown by security forces. More than 300 people were killed, thousands injured and hundreds arrested, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The National Assembly has also approved a law regulating foreign agents, which requires any organization or person receiving external financing to register as such.
GNA