Organization denounces new barriers to accessing corporations registry.

Issel Masses Ferrer, executive director of Sembrando Sentido (Facebook via Piloto151)

By THE STAR STAFF

Public interest organization Sembrando Sentido expressed concern Sunday over new access requirements announced by the Puerto Rico Department of State for the Registry of Corporations and Other Legal Entities.

According to an email notification sent to users, beginning this Thursday, individuals will be required to create personal accounts and complete authentication steps to conduct corporate transactions or search publicly available information in the registry.

The organization acknowledged the importance of safeguarding sensitive transactions and ensuring the integrity of government systems. However, it warned that extending identification, authentication and traceability requirements to basic public searches creates unnecessary barriers and could have a chilling effect on broad sectors of the population.

According to Sembrando Sentido, requiring users to create accounts, manage authentication processes, and navigate multiple steps to access public information may significantly hinder access for people with limited digital literacy or inconsistent internet access.

“One thing is protecting sensitive transactions or changes within the system. It is something entirely different to turn access to public information into a complex, bureaucratic process that discourages people from seeking information of high public interest,” said Issel Masses Ferrer, executive director of Sembrando Sentido. “This affects everyone -- from communities trying to understand who is behind a project in their neighborhood, to attorneys who need corporate information to file claims, to journalists, researchers, community organizations, and residents seeking basic corporate data.”

The group also cautioned that the new system could enable the government to collect information about individuals who search for corporate, contracting, permitting, or public funds data -- conditions that, it argued, could open the door to surveillance or retaliation against those seeking information of public interest.

The announcement, Sembrando Sentido noted, was made without public orientation, consultation or discussion with transparency organizations, journalists, programmers, researchers, attorneys or regular users of the registry. The Department of State also did not clarify how the information gathered through authentication mechanisms will be handled, or how the changes will affect technological tools that rely on access to public data.

The organization emphasized that the new restrictions could disrupt transparency platforms that depend on corporate registry data to support investigations, analysis and public oversight. Many modern transparency tools rely on application programming interfaces, or APIs, which allow systems to connect and exchange data, to analyze and integrate large volumes of public information. The Department of State’s announcement did not specify whether such integrations will remain viable.

“Much of today’s civic oversight depends on efficiently connecting and analyzing public data,” Masses Ferrer said. “That includes transparency platforms, investigative media, community organizations, and businesses conducting due diligence. Limiting or complicating that access could significantly affect the ability to understand who receives contracts, permits, incentives, or manages public funds.”

Sembrando Sentido noted that the concern arises at a time when more government functions are carried out through private contracting and corporate structures, making agile access to corporate information essential for understanding who manages public resources. The organization highlighted its own platform, Contratos En Ley, which integrates data from multiple public registries -- including the corporate registry -- to make government spending information more accessible. The tool has increased visibility and accessibility of contracting and corporate information by more than 400%.

The group also framed the new measures within a broader pattern of recent setbacks in transparency and public participation. Those include legislative and administrative changes that have weakened access to public information, reduced mechanisms for citizen participation, and eliminated certain corporate disclosure requirements. Among them: amendments to the Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information Act; Law 65‑2025, which removes annual corporate report requirements; and Law 82‑2026, which significantly increases the costs and requirements for challenging construction permits.

“As disclosure and transparency requirements for corporations and public fund beneficiaries are reduced, barriers and monitoring of those seeking to oversee or access public information increase,” Masses Ferrer said. “Privacy and security protections cannot be applied unevenly when the public interest and the proper use of public funds are at stake.”