Brazil is on the way to approving a groundbreaking bill to protect internet user’s rights. This new bill has been dubbed Marco Civil da Internet. Just this week, on March 25th, the bill passed through Brazilian Congress and has been passed on to the Senate. This bill has been on the Brazilian government’s agenda as far back as 2009, and the NSA of last year brought this bill to a high priority. The Marco Civil was designed to protect three key aspects of internet usage; Freedom of expression, net neutrality, and privacy.
The idea behind this bill is a huge step forward for the future of the internet. Techdirt had a very good article yesterday about the Marco Civil. This bill is said to “one of a kind,” in that it was developed through a very transparent and open process. In 2009 citizens were invited to help add and critique an early draft of the bill. It was reported that nearly 2,00 citizens participated in revising the bill to fit public concern. This is a major factor in the importance of this bill. It is amazing that this bill was reshaped by the people to fit their concerns for internet privacy. It wasn’t another corporation trying to make a profit or seize more control over the internet. The Marco Civil was harshly attacked by several industries because it would cause problems for the corporations that held some power over the Brazilian internet. Thankfully for the people of Brazil this bill survived that bombardment in 2012. The article goes on to say that prior to the bill being passed supporters flooded Twitter with #EuQueroMarcoCivil (IwantMarcoCivil).