Internet freedom in Costa Rica improved slightly during the coverage period. The country remained one of the world’s most open online environments, where users enjoyed unfettered access to content and their rights to free expression were largely protected by the laws and the courts. However, under President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, who took office in 2022, worsening online intimidation directed at critical journalists posed a threat to the country’s strong tradition of press freedom.1

• Concerns about politicization in the allocation of state advertising persisted during the coverage period, affecting both online and offline media outlets. A legislative commission that investigated the National Radio and Television System concluded in June 2024 that the government had used its advertising arm to funnel state contracts to progovernment outlets (B6).2
• During the coverage period, electoral authorities fined digital media outlets for allegedly publishing prohibited electoral propaganda. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal, for example, imposed a fine of 924,400 colones ($1,800) on Acontecer.co.cr for a 2021 social media post that asked users whom they would vote for if elections were held that day.3 Two other outlets that published content online faced similar sanctions, though these were reversed in January 2025 (C3).4
• The government took some steps that could expand its surveillance powers. In July 2024, President Chaves signed a law that increased the number of crimes for which courts were allowed to authorize the interception of communications, and extended the period during which such interception could take place.5 A November 2024 government decree authorized the Special Intervention Unit—which operates under the Ministry of the Presidency and has traditionally focused on counterterrorism and combating drug trafficking—to collect “data and information prior to the execution of operations, using appropriate technological means.”6 A constitutional appeal against the decree appeared to be pending during the coverage period (C5).7

Costa Rica has a long history of democratic stability, with a multiparty political system and regular rotations of power through credible elections. Freedoms of expression and association are robust. The rule of law is generally strong, though presidents have often been implicated in corruption scandals. Among other ongoing concerns, violence related to drug trafficking and organized crime is rising sharply.

This report has been abridged for Freedom on the Net 2025 due to ongoing budget constraints. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see last year’s full report.