Editing Telecommunications in Uruguay (section)

=== Internet censorship and surveillance ===

There are no government restrictions on access to or usage of the Internet<ref>[http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/uruguay-0 "Uruguay"], ''Freedom in the World 2013'', Freedom House, 11 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.</ref> or credible reports that the government monitors [[e-mail]] or Internet [[chat rooms]] without judicial oversight.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-2012-Uruguay>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204484 "Uruguay"], ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 21 March 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.</ref>

Uruguayan law provides for [[freedom of speech]] and [[Freedom of the press|press]], and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to ensure these rights. The law also prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions in practice.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-2012-Uruguay/>

In August 2016 the President of URSEC (the Uruguayan government agency equivalent to the FCC in the US) stated that his agency was at the government's beck and call to block the IP address of the servers of Uber to keep its app from operating in Uruguay. If carried out this would constitute the first and only known instance of [[Great Firewall]] style blocked-IP censorship in Uruguay. In the same interview he stated that WhatsApp "transgresses the limits of communications".<ref>[http://elpaistv.com.uy/videos/a-diario/gabriel-lombide-5372 El presidente de la Ursec dijo que el organismo 'está a la orden' de que el gobierno solicite el bloqueo de la aplicación"], El Pais TV. Retrieved 26 August 2016 {{in lang|es}}</ref> In July 2017 the Uruguayan subsecretary of economy stated that the government was considering "blocking the signals" of online gaming sites, which in Internet terms would seem to refer to some kind of IP-based censorship.<ref>[http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/fa-pide-destinar-crecimiento-extra.html FA pide destinar crecimiento extra del PIB a prioridades"], El Pais. Retrieved 23 July 2017 {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref>[http://www.elobservador.com.uy/gobierno-quiere-gravar-las-plataformas-digitales-pero-no-sabe-como-hacerlo-n1100714 Gobierno quiere gravar a las plataformas digitales pero no sabe cómo hacerlo"], El Observador. Retrieved 23 July 2017 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

In April 2018 a Uruguayan court ordered all Uruguayan ISPs to block their users from accessing the content of specific sites broadcasting sports events copyrighted by Fox Sports Latin America. This is a key precedent that differs dramatically from the piracy enforcement in first world countries like the US, which focuses on the takedown of the sites themselves and does not engage in IP-based censorship. A Fox spokesman declared the network would try to use the precedent to get similar rulings in other Latin American countries.<ref>[https://www.elobservador.com.uy/justicia-obliga-proveedores-internet-bloquear-roja-directa-n1209632 Justicia obliga a proveedores de internet a bloquear Roja Directa], El Observador. Retrieved 4 April 2018 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

In November 2016 the Uruguayan Ministry of the Interior initiated legal action against a Facebook and Twitter site ("chorros_uy") that reports criminal activity across Uruguay, alleging that it "raises public alarm".<ref>[http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/interior-denuncio-cuenta-chorros-uy-infundir-temor.html Interior denunció a la cuenta Chorros Uy por 'infundir temor'], El Pais. Retrieved 11 November 2016 {{in lang|es}}</ref> The Interamerican Press Society swiftly criticized the Ministry's attempt to censor the site as "contrary to democracy's norms".<ref>[http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/sip-condena-acciones-gobierno-chorrosuy.html SIP condena las acciones legales del gobierno contra la cuenta ChorrosUy], El Pais. Retrieved 11 November 2016 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

As of 2017 a surveillance software suite, called "Guardián", capable of spying internet traffic, email accounts, social networks and telephone calls is being used without proper authorization from the [[Judiciary]].<ref>[http://www.elpais.com.uy/opinion/editorial/control-guardian-editorial.html Control sobre "El Guardián"], El Pais. Retrieved 10 March 2017 {{in lang|es}}</ref>