Telecommunications in Panama
[citation needed] The broadcast media were under strict control during the regime of the dictators that ruled Panama from 1968 to 1989, including Manuel Noriega.[citation needed] Telephone services were state run by the INTEL (Instituto Nacional de TELecomunicaciones, National Telecommunications Institute, not to be confused with Intel Corporation) until 1997, when a 49% stake was sold to Cable & Wireless plc, rebranding as Cable & Wireless.In January 2012 then-president Ricardo Martinelli supported a bill introduced by his party (Cambio Democratico) in the National Assembly to penalize speech that criticized the president and his administration.According to the Public Utilities Authority, it received orders from the National Security Council of the Ministry of the Presidency to restrict communications.Nevertheless, there have been complaints that in some cases law-enforcement authorities failed to follow legal requirements and conducted unauthorized searches.