On 25 April, President Sheinbaum halted progress of her new Telecommunications Law in the Senate, opening it up for further discussions and amendments. This came after recent protests alleging censorship to digital platforms by blocking their operations, in accordance with Article 109 of the bill.
On 30 April, the Senate agreed on the format for this renewed dialogue, called “conversatorios”, which encompassed the presentation of proposals by experts. The Senate appointed Senator Javier Corral to conduct this work, with the support of the joint commissions responsible for evaluating President Sheinbaum’s bill. Corral is an experienced legislator, recognised by civil society, industry, and his peers.
The conversatorios included five sessions from 8-22 May, totalling almost 20 hours of discussion, broadcast by Canal del Congreso.
In the first session, a new decentralised regulator with technical autonomy was suggested, similar to the President’s proposal for a National Antitrust Commission, as referenced in the Law of Economic Competition. Other proposals in later sessions covered social coverage and the government’s direct intervention in the telecommunications market.
In his closing remarks on 22 May, Senator Corral announced the initial changes to the bill, with the support of President Sheinbaum. These include:
- Elimination of Article 109 (blocking of digital platforms) and amendment of Articles 201 and 202, which refer to the prior authorisation of content originated abroad.
- Creation of a decentralised regulatory body (desconcentrado) of the Agency of Digital Transformation and Telecommunications (ATDT), with technical and management autonomy.
- Adjustments to the bill so that the State will participate in the telecommunications market under equal terms with private companies. This means that to obtain spectrum for commercial use, the government will have to participate in public auctions and pay the same spectrum fee as private companies. This will be governed by the principle of competitive neutrality, consistent with the Constitution and Mexico’s international commitments, particularly with the USMCA.
Regarding digital platforms, the initiative is focused on content distribution, with several proponents calling for regulatory convergence with other forms of media. Senator Corral also underscored that there is consensus around excluding digital platforms not related to content distribution from this bill, noting that this is work for the future.
Senator Javier Corral announced that the Senate Joint Committees are now entering a phase to formulate the necessary modifications to the bill and work towards building consensus. He set 30 June as the deadline for drafting the Commission’s new Opinion, which will be put to a vote in an extraordinary session that may take place in July.
From dialogue to impact
As experts in regulatory advocacy and market strategies, Access Partnership were selected to take part in the first round of conversatorios. We leveraged our local expertise and global experience to provide detailed recommendations and data-driven proposals, which fed directly into the bill’s changes.
At Access Partnership, the leading tech policy firm, we can guide you through this transformative period. To learn how your organisation can navigate the implications of Mexico’s regulatory reforms and leverage opportunities in this evolving landscape, please contact Geusseppe Gonzalez at [email protected] and Fernando Borjón at [email protected].
