The Treasury's power to access customer's personal data held by telecommunications operators has been confirmed.
The Agency for Data Protection of Inhabitants (Prodhab) rejected the appeal filed by Millicom against the Directorate of Revenue of Intelligence at the Treasury for requesting data from their customers, arguing that the Treasury is authorized to request subscriber's name, ID number, contracted service, exact address and phone number.
Congress has for the moment suspended the enactment of the controversial law approved a few days ago.
The Honduran Congress has for the moment suspended the much opposed law which was believed to be unconstitutional and it has sent it to a special committee for review and definition on whether it contradicts the Law on Access to Information.
The reform of Article 92 of the Constitution of Nicaragua referring to databases, and telecommunications records could affect the trade and service industry.
According to Joseph Adam Aguerri, president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep), reform of Article 92 of the Constitution of Nicaragua proposed by the government is "counterproductive" in relation to economic matters.
In Costa Rica they are analyzing at the highest judicial level the possibility of restricting the public's right to be informed via the internet about judicial processes and sentences.
An editorial in the January 28 edition of the Nacion daily reveals the intentions of the Full Court in Costa Rica to establish regulations to restrict the publication of personal information contained in judicial process and sentences on the Internet.
Following the adoption in Guatemala of the Law on Public Information Access, El Salvador and Costa Rica are the only ones in the isthmus that lack a similar law.
The Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES) presented yesterday its draft law on transparency and access to public information.
The proposal includes 113 articles that seek to force all state institutions to deliver public information to all citizens.
The law, which regulates access to information publicly administered information, will come into effect 180 days after it is published.
The regulations guarantee the people the right to request and access government information.
Public information is defined to include: budget reports, deposit of public funds, usufruct concessions and list of works in progress, etc.
Las week the session of Congress introduced a bill called the Access to Public Information Law.
In the midst of the turbulance caused by the transparency scandals in the Legislature, the law could not have arrived at a better time. Now that the deputies are "washing their faces" before the citizens they are starting to approve this initiative.
The Constitution contemplates free access to public information but, typical of public officials, they did not pay attention to citizen requirements, especially those of the national press.