(LifeSiteNews) — The Mexican government has withdrawn a plan to regulate religious speech online following strong pushback from Christians and other religious groups.
Diario Cristiano reported that federal deputy and spokesperson for the ruling leftist Morena party, Arturo Ávila Anaya, promised to withdraw the modification of the Law of Religious Associations and Public Worship. The change to Article 16 of the law would significantly curb religious speech online and could establish a draconian censorship regime, critics have argued.
The proposed legislation was presented on October 28 before the Mexican Congress of the Union, suggesting the following addition to the aforementioned law:
Ministers of worship or religious associations that operate digital media, including digital multimedia content distribution platforms, social networks, or any other online service, must comply with the guidelines issued by the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency in coordination with the Ministry of the Interior, ensuring respect for digital rights, net neutrality, and the prevention of hate speech.
The proposal sparked a significant backlash from religious groups. “Stop censorship,” “let’s all go together to express the word of God,” “telling the truth and exposing sin is not a message of hate,” were some of the expressions that Christians wrote on various social media platforms in response to the Morena Initiative.
Numerous journalists and activists posted videos online, expressing their disagreement and rejection of the proposed legislation. The group Activate.org.mx launched a petition that had garnered over 12,000 signatures through a campaign titled, “They want to silence our churches.”
Critics warned that the legislation’s outcome would lead to an unprecedented surveillance state and political control of faith life in Mexico.
Leaders of various evangelical denominations, ecclesiastical organizations, and the Catholic Conference of the Mexican Episcopate (CEM) expressed their rejection of the proposal, arguing that it was a violation of freedom of religion and expression in Mexico.
Deputy Ávila stated on X that the decision to withdraw the proposal was made after a meeting with representatives of eight Mexican religious associations. During that meeting, both parties acknowledged the need for an in-depth debate on current digital challenges.
“We agree that the digital challenges of our times make a deep debate necessary to strengthen the secular state and fully guarantee religious freedom,” Ávila said.
“In light of the above, I have decided to withdraw the bill that added a third paragraph to Article 16 of the Law on Religious Associations and Public Worship, in order to work together with everyone to build a regulatory framework that contributes in a responsible and consensual manner to this important challenge for the country’s public life,” he wrote.
During the meeting with the religious groups, it was agreed that further roundtable discussions are needed to reach an agreement on legislation regarding the expression of religious views online.