Brazil, with a reported population of 209,288,278 as of 2018, has a relatively high level of freedom in terms of citizens' rights and ability to act on the web, coming in 31st out of 65 countries measured in the Freedom on the Net ranking.₁ The legislation specifically regarding the internet in this country is not extensive, but recent events have caused government officials to call for limits and restrictions to be placed on specific social outlets involved in privacy invasions and exposure of user personal information. Access to the internet in Brazil has become more available over time, with the numbers and types of service providers increasing. However, although these services are becoming more readily available, they are still difficult for many citizens to obtain due to their prices in a time of national economic struggle.₁
Senado Federal do Brasil Fotos produzidas pelo Senado by Sendado Federal is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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Please click here for an accessibility transcription of this infographic
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NET Virtua |
Algar Telecom |
Sercomtel (Regional provider) |
79,00 |
79,90 |
83,90 |
35 MB |
20 MB |
20 MB |
($20.07 USD) |
($20.30 USD) |
($21.31 USD) |
ITU. (n.d.). Percentage of population using the internet in Brazil from 2000 to 2016. In Statista - The Statistics Portal. Retrieved April 9, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/209106/number-of-internet-users-per-100-inhabitants-in-brazil-since-2000/. |
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Civic Activism/Social Movements
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Laws Regarding the Internet
Plano Nacional de Banda Larga 5,₆
Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (Marco Civil) 4
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SimilarWeb. (n.d.). Most popular mobile messaging apps amongst Android users in Brazil as of 1st quarter 2016, by daily usage (in minutes.seconds). In Statista - The Statistics Portal. Retrieved April 23, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/258696/mobile-messenger-app-usage-of-users-in-brazil/.
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Overall, Brazil's ranking of partly free is accurate when the criteria which determine this ranking are considered. The obstacles to internet access in Brazil are largely due to class differences and ability to afford access, but these hurdles are becoming easier to overcome due to more accessible means of access than a home broadband or wireless network. A couple of big contributors to this movement is the range of mobile networking service that offer packages including wireless service or hot-spot availability to their customers, as well as increasing numbers of public areas with free Wifi access throughout the country.
The content that is available to internet users in Brazil both to create themselves and to access is not heavily limited. There are some very specific laws put in place with the enactment of Marco Civil which restrict anonymous action in an online setting, but which also provide security to users in the case of breaches of private information. Users' rights in Brazil have been violated in specific instances, mostly concerning WhatsApp. The large user population of WhatsApp in Brazil increases their susceptibility for hacking and data scraping. Individuals have also been prosecuted for defamation offenses in recent political elections, which violates a right granted by Marco Civil to freedom of public speech. In the end, while Brazil does have restrictions placed on very specific online activities, their internet system is undergoing nationwide expansion, growth, and development in populations which previously lacked internet penetration. |