Let's change the incorporation of digital media into the electoral advertising law

Adepa and the Association of Digital Journalism (APD) presented to lawmakers project to incorporate into the regulation an article regulating election advertising for the Argentine digital media. The journalistic entities have proposed that on the total investment in advertising on digital platforms and social networks, at least 50% go to the digital newspaper sites of the national production. This means means of national, provincial and local scope.

The proposal was very well received by the senators of Peronism and the university. Even Dalmacio Mera, chairman of the constitutional affairs commission in charge of the law, lent his support. But let's change it rejected.

The exclusion advocated by the macrista bloc aims to maintain the current model of distribution of models, where, by decision of Casa Rosada, Facebook and Google agglutinate the highest proportion of official advertising, Although they are not taxed in the country, they retain a small number of local employees and their profits accumulate abroad.

To the detriment of the national media that saw their participation in the campaign directives fall, in the 2017 legislative elections, the government allocated 30% of the election advertising to social networks, mainly to Facebook, Twitter and Google. In 2011, it was only 4%. This behavior is reproduced with state games in non-election time.

Although many Radical Senators favored setting a percentage of digital advertising in campaigns against the Argentinian media, Cambiemos' resistance to accepting a new piece of law being debated prevailed.

In the UCR, they understood that the proposal follows the trend of the most important countries in the world, who are worried about the protect the local media against the disproportionate advance of global platforms, which do not produce local content and are the springboard for spreading false information.