Costa Rica
Costa Rica continues to have one of the world’s most favourable press freedom environments. Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the constitution and the government generally respects this right. Nevertheless, challenges related to press freedom have emerged since Rodrigo Chaves Robles assumed the presidency in 2022. Some media outlets have been subjected to verbal attacks and their access to state-held information has been restricted. This is indeed reflected by Costa Rica’s ranking in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, which went down from 8th place in 2022 to 26th in 2024. At the same time, Costa Rica lost three points in its internet freedom rating in 2023, according to Freedom House's annual Freedom on the Net 2023 report.
Aside from guaranteeing freedom of expression and press, Costa Rica has traditionally been praised for its commitment to democracy and human rights. However, over the course of 2023, 63% of people have seen, heard or read attacks or offenses against media outlets or journalists, according to a national survey published later that year by the University of Costa Rica's Program for Freedom of Expression and the Right to Information (PROLEDI) in Costa Rica. Despite these declines, Costa Rica still holds the first place in terms of press freedom in Latin America and second in the whole of the Americas, after Canada.
State of press freedom
Costa Rica enjoys a diverse and independent media landscape, with various newspapers, television channels, and online outlets providing news and information to the public. Concerns have always been focused on ownership concentration and political influence in certain media outlets. However, since the government of Rodrigo Chavez has turned against the press, the media sector and the international community identify the need to develop the media ecosystem more. It is worth highlighting recent cases of government representatives against journalists and media outlets. For instance, the sentence against the journalist and former director of the University of Costa of the open television channel of the University of Costa Rica (Canal Quince UCR), Marlon Mora, following a lawsuit by the former presidential candidate Juan Diego Castro. Then there is the administrative closure of the Parque Viva of Grupo La Nacion, and the actions against businessman Leonel Baruch, majority shareholder of the digital media CRHoy.com.
Our work in Costa Rica
Free Press Unlimited is working with international and local partners in Costa Rica to tackle dissinformation and hate speech, preventing, protecting and countering the misuse and abuse of new digital technologies. We are also contributing to strengthen the participation of civil society in the protection of democracy and human rights and to strengthen its role as an actor for good governance and sustainable development.