Mexico: Rejected Amendment of Federal Law of Telecommunications including user speech right obligations

On 31 August 2021, the amendment to the Mexican Federal Law of Telecommunications and Broadcasting was rejected after failing to be passed by Congress before the end of the LXIV legislature. The amendment targeted the category of “relevant social network providers”, including social media platforms with over a million users in Mexico. The amendment would have restricted relevant social network providers' ability to moderate content and block users to the reasons specified in the Law itself. Moreover, the amendment would have allowed users with limited or suspended access to platforms to submit an appeal to the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), which could overrule social media platforms' decisions on user access limitations. Finally, the amendment introduced enhanced fines for platforms that were found to be violating the users' right to free speech.