Brazil's Congress approves Internet legislation, assuring equal access and user privacy.
3/26/2014SAO PAULO — The lower house of Brazil’s Congress has approved legislation meant to ensure the privacy of Internet users and to guarantee what’s called “Internet neutrality,” that all content be treated equally by carriers.
The bill known as the “Internet constitution” was approved Tuesday night, though it still must pass the Senate before becoming law.
Approval was ensured last week when the government dropped a provision that would have required Internet companies such as Google and Facebook to store any information on Brazilian users on servers located in the country.
That provision was added to the bill last year after revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency’s espionage programs targeted President Dilma Rousseff’s communications with aids and Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras.