International Organizations Call for a Swift Adoption of Marco Civil in Brazil · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

‘Internet Needs an Uncompromising “Marco Civil” in Brazil!‘, state international organizations that advocate for free speech and freedoms online in an open letter released on October 28, 2013 (on the eve of the vote on Brazil's ‘bill of rights’ for Internet users). Its opening paragraph reads:
The “Marco Civil da Internet” is a remarkably progressive legislative text to protect Internet and fundamental rights online in Brazil. It has been drafted through an unprecedented collaborative effort involving citizens. But for the past 3 years, it has remained stuck in Parliament, under heavy pressure by industry – mostly telecom – lobbies.
As Global Voices reported earlier this month, Brazil's House of Representatives and Senate had to analyze the bill until the end of October, following a request for urgency in the examination by President Dilma Rousseff last September 11, 2013. Rousseff's speech at the United Nations in the end of September, with tough criticisms of US government surveillance programs and a proposal for the global development of a new digital policy, has grabbed the attention of international organizations.
Encouraging for a “swift adoption” of Marco Civil in Brazil, the open letter was initiated by La Quadrature du Net and has already been signed by global organizations such as Wikileaks, Reporters Without Borders and Article19, as well as other national organizations from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland and Spain.
Check out the coverage of #MarcoCivil on Global Voices Online and Advocacy.