Defamation and Online Harassment Laws in Argentina

Argentina is a civil law country. The Civil and Commercial Code recognizes the dignity of every person and lets anyone harmed in their privacy, honor, reputation, image or identity seek prevention and compensation (Articles 51 and 52), applying the general rule that any unjustified act causing harm must be repaired (Articles 1716 and 1717). The national Criminal Code defines two offenses against honor: calumnia (Article 109) and injuria (Article 110).

Sources1Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation (Law 26.994), Articles 51, 52, 1716 and 17172Criminal Code of the Nation (Law 11.179), Articles 109 and 110

Since Law 26.551 of 2009, calumnia and injuria are punished only with fines, not prison: 3,000 to 30,000 pesos for calumnia and 1,500 to 20,000 pesos for injuria (Articles 109 and 110). Statements about matters of public interest, or statements that are not assertions of fact, are never a crime, and insulting labels tied to a public interest issue are not injuria. These are private-action offenses: only the offended person can bring the case, or, after their death, their spouse, children, grandchildren or surviving parents (Article 73).

Source2Criminal Code of the Nation, Articles 73, 109 and 110 (as amended by Law 26.551)

Argentine law does not treat written and spoken defamation differently. A civil claim for compensation of damages generally expires after three years (Civil and Commercial Code, Article 2561). Because calumnia and injuria are punished only with fines, the criminal action expires after two years, counted from midnight on the day of the offense (Criminal Code, Articles 62.5 and 63).

Sources1Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation, Article 25612Criminal Code of the Nation, Articles 62.5 and 63

Argentina does not use the common law categories of defamation per se. A person harmed in their honor or reputation can claim under the general damages rules (Civil and Commercial Code, Article 52): the harmful act must be unjustified, and the person directly harmed can seek compensation for non-financial consequences (Articles 1717 and 1741). When a person is harmed by a false criminal accusation, the accuser is liable only for intent or gross negligence (Article 1771).

Source1Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation, Articles 52, 1717, 1741 and 1771

A person accused of calumnia or injuria is exempt from punishment if they publicly retract before or when answering the complaint, and the retraction is not an admission of guilt (Criminal Code, Article 117). When honor, privacy or identity is harmed, a civil judge can, if asked, order the ruling published at the wrongdoer's expense (Civil and Commercial Code, Article 1740). The American Convention on Human Rights, which has constitutional rank in Argentina, also gives anyone harmed by inaccurate or offensive information spread to the public through regulated media a right to reply or correction through the same outlet, under the conditions set by law (Article 14).

Sources2Criminal Code of the Nation, Article 1171Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation, Article 17403Constitution of the Argentine Nation, Article 75(22)4American Convention on Human Rights, Article 14, as approved by Law 23.054

The Constitution protects the right to publish ideas in the press without prior censorship (Article 14). In criminal cases, statements on matters of public interest and statements that are not assertions of fact are not punishable (Articles 109 and 110), and someone who repeats another person's defamatory statement is not liable as its author if they attribute it in a substantially faithful way to its source (Article 113). When the statements have nothing to do with public interest, a person accused of injuria can prove the truth only if the alleged fact led to a criminal case or the complainant asks for that proof (Article 111).

Sources3Constitution of the Argentine Nation, Article 142Criminal Code of the Nation, Articles 109, 110, 111 and 113

The national Criminal Code has no offense specifically called stalking or cyberstalking. Using threats to alarm or frighten someone is punished with six months to two years in prison, rising to one to three years if the threats are anonymous (Article 149 bis). Under the law on violence against women, as amended in 2023 by Law 27.736, a judge can urgently order an alleged aggressor not to contact the woman through any technology, messaging app or digital channel (Law 26.485, Article 26, item a.8).

Sources2Criminal Code of the Nation, Article 149 bis5Law 26.485 on comprehensive protection of women, Article 26(a.8) (added by Law 27.736)

Law 27.736 of 2023 added digital or telematic violence to Law 26.485, covering gender-based conduct against women carried out through information and communication technologies, including online harassment, threats, extortion, attacks on their reputation and monitoring of their online activity (Article 6, item i). Judges can order digital platforms, social networks and websites to remove such content, identifying the specific URL (Article 26, item a.9). Separately, contacting a minor online to commit a sexual offense against them (grooming) is a crime punished with six months to four years in prison (Criminal Code, Article 131).

Sources5Law 26.485, Articles 6(i) and 26(a.9) (added by Law 27.736)2Criminal Code of the Nation, Article 131

There is no offense named doxxing, but several provisions can apply. Publishing private correspondence or electronic communications without authorization, when this causes or could cause harm, is punished with a fine (Criminal Code, Article 155), and revealing information from a personal data bank that the law requires to be kept secret carries one month to two years in prison (Article 157 bis). For women, the non-consensual theft and spreading of personal data is one of the forms of digital violence listed in Law 26.485 (Article 6, item i).

Sources2Criminal Code of the Nation, Articles 155 and 157 bis5Law 26.485, Article 6(i) (added by Law 27.736)

The consolidated national Criminal Code does not contain a specific offense for sharing intimate images without consent. Law 26.485 treats obtaining, reproducing or spreading real or edited intimate or nude material of a woman without her consent as digital violence, and a judge can order platforms to remove it (Articles 6, item i, and 26, item a.9). In civil law, capturing or reproducing a person's image generally requires their consent (Civil and Commercial Code, Article 53), and anyone who arbitrarily intrudes on another's private life, for example by publishing pictures, can be ordered to stop and pay compensation (Article 1770).

Sources5Law 26.485, Articles 6(i) and 26(a.9) (added by Law 27.736)1Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation, Articles 53 and 17702Criminal Code of the Nation (consolidated text)