At the end of March, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies voted in favour of the Marco Civil da Internet (Internet Bill), bringing the ground-breaking legislation one step closer to enactment. The Internet Bill will now progress to the Senate for approval.
In the wake of Edward Snowden's revelations about global surveillance programs, the Internet Bill had included a provision that would have required organisations to store all data held on Brazilian citizens within the country's border. This controversial requirement has been dropped by the Brazilian government in the latest version of the Internet Bill. However, the text voted on by the Chamber of Deputies now provides that organisations will be subject to the laws and courts of Brazil in cases where the information of Brazilian citizens is involved.
The Internet Bill will introduce a variety of measures to govern the use of the Internet, providing civilians with robust rights and implementing strict requirements for organisations to comply with. The legislation is the first of its kind, and has been hailed by the Brazilian Minister of Justice as a sign that Brazil is at the forefront of efforts to regulate the web democratically. The most important provisions in the legislation are:
- A statement of the rights of web users, including freedom of expression and the confidentiality of online communications
- The enshrinement of "net neutrality", a principle that prohibits ISPs and governments from making a distinction between different types of data traffic. This will prevent organisations from being able to limit access to different websites based upon subscription plans.
- Confirmation that ISPs cannot be held liable for content uploaded by third parties using their services unless they refuse to remove such content following a court order
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