Freedom of Expression

Tell Brazilian lawmakers to leave the internet alone and #KeepitOn!

 

Veja esta petição em português.

Dear Brazilian Senators,

We rely on apps and services like WhatsApp to communicate with our loved ones, conduct business, and enjoy the fruits of the open internet. They are important platforms for free expression, a fundamental human right. We should not authorize future blanket shutdowns like this one, nor let such shutdowns become the new normal.

We urge you to reject the dangerous cybercrime bills today!

For the second time in six months, a Brazilian judge has ordered internet service providers to block WhatsApp in the country, cutting off essential communications for 100 million people. The judge issued the shutdown order because WhatsApp reportedly did not give police in Brazil access to messages sought as part of an ongoing drug investigation. The company says it cannot comply because it does not have the capacity to access users’ private encrypted messages.

But that’s not all. This shutdown could soon be followed by many more.

 Right now, lawmakers in Brazil are trying to ram through a dangerous legislative plan, pushing new bills that would legalize this type of blocking. This means apps that millions rely on —  WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Facebook, Twitter,  you name it — could be blocked. What’s happening right now would become the new normal. And that power would not be reserved for criminal investigations — the new laws would authorize shutdowns like this one for offenses such as copyright infringement. That’s right —  a Brazilian version of SOPA.


Tell Brazilian lawmakers to drop these dangerous cybercrime bills and keep the internet on.

Image credit: EFF.org

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