Brazilian Ministry of Justice sends new Internet Law to the National Congress

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, the long-awaited “Internet law” was sent to the National Congress in Brasilia this week. The draft Internet Bill (projeto de lei 2,126/11) is currently following the procedures of the House of Representatives. Subsequently, it will be sent to the Senate.

As the legislative process is advancing towards the formal parliamentary steps, now is the moment for content creators and other stakeholders to pay close attention to the political process in Brasilia. The House has the right of amendment and may present new text proposals with regard to the draft bill.

The new Internet law materialized in 2009 when the Ministry of Justice disclosed its first draft and opened a public consultation. Local critics note, however, that the current text proposal does not reflect comments from the creative sector. In article 2 to 4 of the proposed law, for example, the Brazilian government mentions access to the internet and to information, protection of privacy and consumers and the promotion of innovation as the main goals of the new law. Interestingly, this section of the draft does not mention the protection of intellectual property rights in the online world.

With regard to enforcement of intellectual property rights, the Brazilian government apparently does not envisage an out-of-court notice and takedown procedure. Furthermore, it is unclear to what extent internet service providers will be expected to contribute to the goals of this legislation. For example, article 3 of the draft mentions network neutrality as one of the cornerstones of the new internet policy.

Brazil is the fifth largest country on earth, so whatever the outcome of the upcoming parliamentary debates will be, the current developments in Brazil with regard to internet regulation will undoubtedly be controversial.

Read more about legal developments in Latin America on Future of Copyright:

• Brazilian minister reveils copyright revision plans
• Chilean telecom regulator starts enforcing new law on net neutrality
• Chile's law on net neutrality entered into force

References: Entertainment Law Brazil, Subchefia de assuntos parlamentares (Projeto de lei 2,126/11 estabelece princípios, garantias, direitos e deveres para o uso da Internet no Brasil -Portuguese only-)