Uruguay’s Supreme Court of Justice has unanimously dismissed a law suit brought by cable TV companies fighting the disclosure of the number of subscribers they have.
The court rejected arguments that the Law on Access to Public Information is unconstitutional in a March 15 decision (in Spanish) described here (in Spanish).
The Uruguayan Press Association (APU) in 2010 sought information on the number of subscribers. The union wanted the information to inform its wage negotiations with the companies.
The government’s Regulatory Unit Communications Services (Ursec) refused to provide such data, contained in their records, saying the information is proprietary, but a court ordered it to be disclosed.
The cable TV companies challenged the decision make the information available, calling the Articles 2 and 4 of the law unconstitutional.
The companies argued, among other things, that the number of subscribers is sensitive data, the disclosure of which would interfere with their business strategies. The court rejected this contention. Also rejected were arguments that the disclosure would interfere with subscriber’s privacy.
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