One small step for a bill, one giant leap for Brazilian Internet
Concerning the recent advancements towards Internet regulation in Brazil
Something important has happened in Brazil this week regarding the Brazilian Internet. The Marco Civil da Internet bill, which is sort of an “Internet Constitution”, was approved by the Congress last Wednesday, and is going to be voted by the Senate in the future. It covers some key points and affects mainly telcos (which are against the bill, of course), striping them of some of the power they currently have (which sounds pretty good, if you ask me).
First of all, it attempts to protect users’ privacy. It states that Internet providers are not allowed to store specific applications’ usage information from its users (unless a court order demands such information, in which case the retrieval of the data may be temporarily allowed), only being able (and having the duty to do so) of storing information regarding connection times and IP addresses related to the registered entries. Internet applications can store user data collected in their applications, as long as it is protected and not shared with others.
Another point that is just as important is that it intends to enforce net neutrality, which as I briefly talked about here, prevents bad practices such as traffic shaping, and diminishes a possible threat to innovation. Personally, I think enforcing net neutrality is a huge, necessary step towards a fair Internet.
Some other points that are addressed involve the liability exemption of internet providers concerning harm done by the users (the providers would hold responsibility for making harmful content unavailable if needed, though), and how the government can demand for connection and access records in case there is need for it (i.e. crime investigation).
Overall, the Marco Civil da Internet feels like a step in the right direction for me, even though I find it difficult to enforce some of the demands it makes, which, in my opinion, isn’t exclusively the bill’s fault anyway. Actually, the biggest problem I’ve been witnessing lately is more related to ignorance than anything else, and that’s one of the reasons I wrote this story. We need people to inform themselves properly (which you’re able to do by reading the bill below, if you can read portuguese. Or by spending half an hour doing some research instead of posting on Facebook) instead of spreading biased/incorrect information. This is how I see the bill, and feel free to disagree. Thank you for reading.
