A New Telecommunications Law with Far-Reaching Consequences
Last week, Mexico’s Congress approved the new Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law. The legislation, originally proposed by President Sheinbaum in April. Set to replace the 2014 Federal Law on Telecommunications and Broadcasting, the new legislation has raised significant concerns about freedom of expression, privacy, censorship, competition, and compliance with USMCA. The implications of this legislation extend beyond domestic regulation, touching on critical issues in the US-Mexico relationship, from economic competitiveness and the future regional technological advancement to the China challenge, data protection, and nearshoring.
Key Features of the New Framework: What the Law Replaces and Redefines
The legislation fundamentally restructures the institutional and regulatory framework of telecommunications in Mexico. In the broadest sense, this legislation repeals the 2014 law, establishing policies and procedures to regulate the use of telecommunications and radio networks, in addition to the associated infrastructure (including active and passive, such as antennae, fiber optics, and towers) and orbital resources. The legislation also includes regulations regarding satellite communication and space services. The new law determines that public telecommunications and broadcasting are services of general public interest and includes mechanisms to ensure the sovereignty and protection of the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors.
Shift Toward Protectionism: Rising Concerns about Market Neutrality and the USCMA
Reception of the legislation is mixed. The Sheinbaum administration presented it as an effort to address the digital divide in Mexico by “establishing telecommunications as a universal public service.” Proponents of the legislation argue that it is a mechanism to protect the country’s telecommunications industry, insulate it from foreign interference, and strengthen future technological development. However, critics argue that the legislation’s broad regulatory framework presents significant threats to competitive neutrality, explicitly violating certain provisions laid out in the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). More broadly, the legislation only further fuels concerns about the emergence of a surveillance state in Mexico, working in tandem with the recently approved public security laws.
What is Mexico’s New Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law?
Establishes policies that regulate radio and public telecoms networks and the use of infrastructure to access these networks
Regulates:
The use, management, and exploitation of the radio spectrum and public telecommunications networks
The deployment and access to both active and passive infrastructure and orbital resources.
Satellite communication, space services and their applications, and space sustainability.
Determines that the state will establish conditions for competitiveness in the sector, provisions of services, and access to information and communications technology
Considers telecom and broadcast infrastructure public utilities, and the federal government is to retain primary control over them
Defines and establishes digital services as telecom services provided by intermediaries over the internet and digital platforms as digital services that provide goods, services, products or content. This includes video games and e-commerce platforms
Prohibits advertising via broadcasting and telecommunication channels from foreign governments, unless specifically for tourism, cultural, or sporting purposes
Establishes the rules for managing radio frequencies and satellites in Mexico, including how licenses are granted, who can use them, and the fees they pay. It covers commercial and non-commercial uses, and also includes government use of frequencies
Requires mobile phone users to register for service with their CURP
Creates the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency (ATDT)
What is the ATDT?
A key component of the legislation is the creation of the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency (ATDT), which will replace the existing Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), the body previously responsible for granting and revoking television and radio licenses. The Sheinbaum administration abolished the IFT last December, a move that raised significant concerns. Housed within the new ATDT will be the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT), a decentralized commission with technical and operational autonomy that reports to the Agency, responsible for granting concessions, authorizations, and registration certificates.
ATDT will manage both public and private telecommunications firms and projects, meaning that there is the potential for preference, priority, and privilege for government-led ICT projects, rather than private sector-led projects, thus calling into question the competitive nature of the market – or lack thereof. This poses a fundamental threat to the provisions enumerated in Article 18 of the USMCA, which mandates “neutrality for government-owned telecom providers” and requires a distinct regulatory body that is “separate from, and not accountable to, a supplier of public telecommunications services.”
Privacy, Surveillance, and the Digital Identity Debate
Beyond the potential USMCA violations, there are concerns about ATDT’s capacity to ensure data privacy and protections. ATDT will automatically enroll mobile phone service users into a database that can be accessed by security and judicial authorities, raising significant concerns about data protection. The legislation requires individuals to register for cell phone service using their CURP (a unique identification number assigned to Mexican citizens, similar to a Social Security number in the US). While this provision is intended to crack down on anonymous, phone-based crimes, like extortion, it undeniably raises significant concerns about privacy and data protection.
What is LlaveMX?
The recently passed National Law to Eliminate Bureaucratic Procedures calls for ATDT to manage the use of the newly developed LLaveMX (MX Key). This is a unique online identity for Mexicans validated via CURP, email address, and phone number. The Sheinbaum administration argues that LLaveMX will be utilized for digitalized access to procedures, public services, and social programs to reduce bureaucratic hurdles. While LLaveMX is currently optional, its use will be expanded for access to healthcare services, social programs, legal matters, and more. This goes hand in hand with the recent amendment to require the use of biometric data with the CURP, an effort that the government argues is intended to prevent identity theft. Critics, on the other hand, argue that the Mexican government lacks sufficient legal and technological safeguards to prevent identity theft and hacking.
The Sheinbaum Administration’s Response to “Ley Censura” Allegations
The Sheinbaum administration has explicitly addressed public criticisms of the new telecommunications law, staunchly denying allegations of censorship or spying. The law’s provisions to permit real-time geolocation of individual mobile service users are not new, but rather a provision included in the 2014 law. The administration has emphasized that telecommunications operators and service providers have been required to cooperate with law enforcement since 2014, emphasizing that court orders are required for access to this data. The administration has reiterated that audience rights form part of the human rights enumerated in the Mexican Constitution and that any complaints about broadcast content will be directed to a media ombudsperson, not the government.
When Does the New Telecommunications Law Go into Effect?
President Sheinbaum presented the new law on April 23, 2025. The Senate, after six hours of debate and more than 70 revisions later, approved the law on June 28, 2025, with 77 votes in favor and 30 votes in opposition. The votes fell along party lines, with PRI and PAN senators in opposition and Morena and allies (including Movimiento Ciudadano) in support. Of note, these revisions included the removal of the controversial Article 109, which gave the CRT permission to suspend media broadcasts that “violate audience rights.” This article was the subject of strict scrutiny and criticism, leading many to term the law “Ley Censura” or Censorship Law. On July 1, 2025, the Chamber of Deputies approved the legislation, with 369 votes in favor, 104 in opposition, and 3 abstentions.
The new legislation stipulates that Congress has one year to update and harmonize all related and relevant laws. The president has a period of 30 days to issue adjustments related to regulatory issues. ATDT is required to submit a radio spectrum bidding plan to allocate adequate frequency bands to concessionaries within the next 180 days
What are the implications of Mexico’s Telecommunications Law for the US-Mexico Relationship?
While this new legislation impacts Mexico’s domestic laws, it also fundamentally impacts elements of the US-Mexico relationship. It’s a clear example of the impact of domestic policy on the bilateral relationship. As efforts to promote nearshoring are already strained from the rapid and ever-evolving trade policies imposed by the Trump administration, this law is likely to further exacerbate those tensions. Granting the Mexican government permission to directly provide telecom and broadcasting services contradicts the provisions outlined in the USMCA.
Risks to Technological Cooperation and Nearshoring
But beyond the legal implications, the new legislation threatens to stymie regional technological advancement and undermine opportunities for deeper bilateral cooperation in the name of enhanced economic competitiveness for both the US and Mexico. In an era when access to the internet is a key determinant of future outcomes, bridging digital divides is essential. While the Mexican government argues that this legislation is a crucial step toward digital inclusion, experts argue otherwise, and that this effort may instead actually dissuade private sector investment and competition that has propelled innovation in many other sectors. This, combined with the growing presence of the Chinese telecom provider Huawei in Mexico, should raise significant concerns in Washington.
In this day in age, with the dominance of service-based economies, the broadcasting and telecom sectors are more important than ever before. Control over telecom and broadcasting infrastructure carries an immense strategic advantage. The Mexican government’s decision to grant itself more power over the sector raises significant questions about future competition. And more broadly, this new law, taken in conjunction with the recent public security laws, presents significant concerns about the potential emergence of a surveillance state in Mexico. Dismantling this architecture will prove difficult, and this new legislative development should not be taken lightly.