Sanctioned on April 23, 2014, the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (Law No. 12,965) turns ten years old this Tuesday (23). Through it, we sought to define the principles for internet regulation in the country. Among them, some relate to the protection of users’ privacy and personal data, ensuring their rights and guarantees.
If, on the one hand, the civil framework covers relevant issues such as the inviolability and secrecy of communications, on the other it provides that such data must be available to the courts, when requested by means of a court order.
During its processing in the Chamber of Deputies, when it was still a bill, the Marco Civil da Internet had as rapporteur the then deputy Alessandro Molon (PSB-RJ). Molon is currently executive director of the Open Internet Alliance.
“The civil landmark is a victory for Brazilian society. It was built through a broad discussion with the most diverse sectors of society, it follows very solid foundations and principles and that is precisely why it remains current”, he told Brazil Agency the person responsible for reporting the matter.
Network Neutrality
For the former deputy, the approval of the landmark provided Brazilian society with a law that guarantees citizens, among other rights, that of having a “free, open and toll-free internet, as well as the protection of their privacy”.
In the former parliamentarian’s assessment, the Marco Civil da Internet (MCI) guaranteed that data and content can flow on the internet without discrimination, regardless of the type of content, its origin or destination.
Molon explains that one of the main pillars of this law is the so-called network neutrality, a principle according to which data traffic must have the same quality and speed, guaranteeing equal conditions for different websites that provide the same type of service, such as streaming and banks.
>> Understand the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet
“Net neutrality is increasingly important as the digital ecosystem develops. It is no coincidence that this principle continues to be a central pillar of the internet in other regions of the world, such as Europe, and is about to be fully reestablished nationally in the United States”, added Alessandro Molon.
Many MCI legacies have been observed in the health and education sectors, according to Molon. The former parliamentarian cites a survey by the Health Tech Report, published in 2022, according to which more than 600 health techs (innovative companies in the healthcare sector) have been founded in Brazil since 2016.
“Only in 2022, medical appointments online were used by 33% of doctors and 26% of nurses across the country, not counting nursing notes, which increased from 52% in 2019 to 85% in 2022, and other areas of digital transformation in healthcare, such as exams and diagnoses , electronic medical records, among others”, he said.
Along the same lines, adds Molon, is the education sector and distance learning. “It grew 474% in ten years. More than 3 thousand municipalities offer distance learning in Brazil, allowing training to be offered to all regions of the country, especially in the interior, that previously could not be offered.”
World reference
The MCI was sanctioned by then president Dilma Rousseff at the opening of NetMundial – Global Multisector Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance, which brought together governments, companies, experts and activists in São Paulo in discussions about the future of the network. At the event, the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet was cited as a “global reference for legislation”.
Lawyer specializing in consumer rights, telecommunications and digital rights and member of the Advisory Board of the Nupef Institute (Research, Studies and Training Center), Flavia Lefèvre assesses that, after ten years of its sanction, the MCI shows that it was right in adopting the line of being a principled law aimed at guaranteeing civil rights, ensuring the public nature of networks, freedom of expression and protecting privacy and informed consent.
“The MCI introduced fundamental guarantees, expanding the regulatory floor for the internet connection service, as a recognition of its importance for the economic, social and cultural development of the country, in addition to giving the internet connection service an essential character, making it a universal service,” he told Brazil Agency The lawyer.
She adds that the law provided security for both consumers and economic agents to carry out their activities in the country, “by establishing standards for data processing, protecting privacy and ensuring the inviolability of private communications, at a time when we still did not have the LGPD [Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais]”.
Flavia Lefèvre recalls that the MCI also made it possible to define deadlines for data storage and procedures aimed at handing over data to authorities, as well as rules of responsibility and subjection to Brazilian legislation.
New markets and services
Representing the internet economic chain as a whole, especially companies providing access, services and information, the Brazilian Internet Association (Abranet) also sees many advances since the implementation of the MCI.
According to the president of Abranet, Carol Conway, the internet currently covers almost all markets that previously only operated in the world offline. “It brought countless new possibilities, broke physical barriers and market niches. An example are the paytechs, with its digital accounts and establishment affiliation services. In addition to the infrastructure for Pix, among other aspects”, she told Brazil Agency.
Former deputy Alessando Molon highlighted achievements in these ten years of the MCI, such as expanding the population’s access to the internet, improving connectivity, the development of thousands of small and medium-sized internet providers, greater diversity and quality of services and content for consumers and citizens.
“We have even seen important digital government initiatives or even the development and popularization of online payment and instant transfer, like Pix. All of this was only possible thanks to the solid foundations of the MCI, especially the principle of network neutrality”, highlighted Molon.
Updates
Technology and innovation have, on the internet, fertile ground to be developed and to gain reach. Therefore, special attention is required for the emergence of situations that may require updates to Brazilian legislation.
This is the case, for example, of the Fake News Bill (PL 2,630/2020), currently being processed in the National Congress. The text establishes standards regarding the transparency of social networks and private messaging services. In this sense, it addresses the responsibilities of providers to combat misinformation, as well as ensuring transparency with regard to sponsored content.
“Considering that the MCI is a principled law, I believe it is important that we advance in regulation, as proposed by PL 2,630/2020, especially when it provided for transparency obligations, providing a necessary dose of governance over the algorithmic practices applied by platforms”, argues Flávia Lefèvre remembers that the MCI also provides for a code of conduct that guides companies’ terms of use.
Companies
Representing companies in the telecommunications and connectivity sector, Conexis Brasil Digital (formerly Sinditelebrasil) argues that, to guarantee the necessary updates to the rules, it is essential that authorities, companies and society are open to dialogue.
Executive President of Conexis, Marcos Ferrari assesses that the MCI is a historic milestone for Brazilian connectivity, bringing a series of important rules to the digital environment, “at a time of network expansion, when its potential for use was still unknown” .
“Even today, it is an important instrument for protecting individual privacy, in addition to ensuring rights and guarantees for users on the internet,” he told Brazil Agencyremembering that the revolution experienced over the last decade continues with “intense and rapid changes”.
“Therefore, we believe that the natural path after a decade is to update points in the current legal framework and create new rules and interpretations, also including a debate on some modernizations in the civil framework”, added Marcos Ferrari.
Effective application
For the counselor at the Nupef Institute, the MCI does not need revision. “In fact, the law still needs to be applied effectively, as some rights such as network neutrality, the guarantee of continued provision of internet connection service, which is essential, have been repeatedly disrespected, as denounced by entities that are part of the Network Rights Coalition, in the administrative process that runs at the Ministry of Justice, since January 2023, without the competent authorities giving consequence and effectiveness to these rights.”
“In terms of holding platforms accountable, the law has also been neglected, as there is complete ignorance of what is set out in Section VI of Article 3, of the MCI, which deals with the discipline of internet use”, added Flavia Lefèvre, referring to We refer to the section that establishes principles such as the accountability of agents according to their activities.
“Despite the solar clarity of this provision, the thesis is insisted that the platforms would only respond in the event of Article 19, which deals with responsibility for content posted by users. In other words, the need to systematically interpret laws has been ignored, failing to apply the responsibility of platforms regarding their content moderation activities, such as boosting, recommending, reducing the reach of content and accounts, which has been very comfortable for these companies and very damaging on a large scale for Brazilian society”, he added.
Care
For Alessandro Molon, the solid foundations of the MCI do not prevent incremental advances. “This can be done. The General Data Protection Law [LDPD], for example, came to dialogue with the civil framework, establishing specific regulations for the protection of personal data. As the world changes and new problems arise, laws can be improved by the Legislature itself,” he said.
“The fundamental thing is that the principles of the law are preserved – which continue to benefit Brazilians and our internet – and that improvements are made through participatory and careful processes, to prevent setbacks, fully protecting what does not need to be changed , such as network neutrality, for example, as there is no technical, legal or economic reason to weaken it”, he added.
