Press Freedom Status: Free
Total Score: 28/100 (0 = Most Free, 100 = Least Free)
Legal Environment: 6/30
Political Environment: 14/40
Economic Environment: 8/30

Quick Facts

Population: 43,300,000
Freedom in the World Status: Free
Internet Penetration Rate: 78.7%

Key Developments in 2016:

  • Journalists were fined under provisions of the 2015 Public Security Act for offenses including failing to comply with police orders.

  • The Prisa Group, a major media conglomerate, threatened to sue the online newspaper El Confidencial for $9 million after it published a report implicating the ex-wife of Prisa Group's chief executive in a corruption scandal.

Executive Summary

Spain has a diverse and free media, though the approval of new laws that can constrain media freedom, as well as a struggling economy, have brought about some difficulties for journalists in recent years. The 2015 Public Security Act, known among its detractors as the "gag law," has been invoked against reporters in response to ordinary journalistic activity. Additionally, there have been thousands of layoffs in the media sector over the past decade.

The Public Security Act prescribes fines for offenses including the unauthorized use of images of public officials or members of the security forces when it could endanger the individuals, their families, protected facilities, or a security operation, as well as for insulting a member of the security forces. In 2016, the law was invoked against journalists on a number of occasions. In March, journalist Axier López was fined $700 for tweeting an "unauthorized" photo he had taken of a police operation in in Eibar, in which officers' faces were not actually visible. The same month, journalist Juan Carlos Pérez Díaz was accused of violating the law after refusing authorities' request that he delete images he had taken of the site of a workplace accident in Cojóbar, and risks a $700 fine; the status of his case was unclear at year's end. Authorities similarly fined journalist Ana García under the law's provisions after she refused to follow police orders to surrender her camera after filming an antisuicide demonstration. A judge dismissed the charge against her in the spring. A group of Spanish media outlets has challenged the Public Security Act at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), where a ruling was pending at year's end.

The Transparency Act took effect in 2014, but has been criticized by advocacy organizations for its various exemptions. In July 2016, the public Transparency and Good Governance Council (CTBG) and Spanish Data Protection Agency (AGPD) published a document affirming that the names of guests attending high-level government meetings must be disclosed under the Transparency Act.

Media workers suggest that self-censorship has increased in recent years due to pressure from businesspeople and politically connected figures, as well as the threat of layoffs amid the ongoing economic crisis. In April 2016, El Confidencial (and several other outlets) reported that Teresa Aranda, the ex-wife of Prisa Group head Juan Luis Cebrián, had benefitted financially from using offshore tax havens; the articles were based on information in the Panama Papers, a trove of leaked legal documents that revealed potentially corrupt business activities by powerful individuals around the world. In a move seen as aimed at discouraging further reporting on the topic, Prisa Group announced that it would sue El Confidencial, claiming that by reporting on the scandal, the paper was engaging in unfair competition. It said it would seek $9 million in damages.

Explanatory Note

This country report has been abridged for Freedom of the Press 2017. For background information on press freedom in Spain, see Freedom of the Press 2016.

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