<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>Nota aclaratoria del <a href="http://cgi.br">CGI.br</a> sobre el caso de bloqueo de whatsapp de la semana pasada en Brasil.</div><div id="AppleMailSignature">Para los que siguieron el caso y para ver los pronunciamientos que hacen sobre casos de Internet. </div><div id="AppleMailSignature">Saludos y felices fiestas! </div><div id="AppleMailSignature">Natalia <br><br>Enviado desde mi iPhone</div><div><br>Inicio del mensaje reenviado:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><br><b>Asunto:</b> <b>[governance] <a href="http://cgi.br">CGI.br</a> clarification note regarding blocking of Whatsapp in Brazil</b><br><b>Responder a:</b> <a href="mailto:governance@lists.igcaucus.org">governance@lists.igcaucus.org</a>,Carlos Afonso <<a href="mailto:ca@cafonso.ca">ca@cafonso.ca</a>><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>CLARIFICATION NOTE in virtue of the decision issued by the Honorable</span><br><span>Judge of the 1st Lower Criminal Court of São Bernardo do Campo, ordering</span><br><span>the suspension of the Internet application “Whatsapp” in the national</span><br><span>territory of Brazil.</span><br><span></span><br><span>17-December-2015</span><br><span></span><br><span>The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (<a href="http://cgi.br">CGI.br</a>), after taking notice</span><br><span>of some excerpts of the decision issued by the Honorable Judge of the</span><br><span>1st Lower Criminal court of São Bernardo do Campo, ordering fixed and</span><br><span>mobile Internet Service Providers in Brazil to suspend for 48 hours the</span><br><span>access to the domains <a href="http://whatsapp.net">whatsapp.net</a> and <a href="http://whatsapp.com">whatsapp.com</a> and the inherent</span><br><span>subdomains by blocking the traffic of any content as well as all IP</span><br><span>addresses related to such domains and subdomains, including by adopting</span><br><span>measures aimed at clearing cache memories related to the latter, among</span><br><span>other measures.</span><br><span></span><br><span>HEREBY</span><br><span></span><br><span>clarifies that Article 12 of Law 12.965/2014 (or simply “Marco Civil”)</span><br><span>only authorizes the temporary suspension of the activities expressly and</span><br><span>exhaustively listed in the caput of article 11 of Marco Civil, i.e., the</span><br><span>collection, storage, retention and treatment of logs, personal data or</span><br><span>communications by Internet access/connection and application providers.</span><br><span>Accordingly, article 12 of Marco Civil cannot be construed as something</span><br><span>that entails the full and unrestricted suspension of all activities of</span><br><span>Internet services and applications providers that operate in Brazil.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Moreover, the Steering Committee takes up this opportunity to reiterate</span><br><span>some of the terms of a clarification note previously adopted by its</span><br><span>board members on March 3, 2015, by which they evaluated a similar</span><br><span>decision adopted by a lower court of the state of Piauí, specially in</span><br><span>relation to the following aspects:</span><br><span></span><br><span>1) Article 12 of Law 12.965/2014 comprises a group of sanctions, namely</span><br><span>warnings, fines, the temporary suspension of activities involving the</span><br><span>acts specified in Article 11 as well as the prohibition of exercising</span><br><span>those same activities. Those sanctions shall be applied gradually and</span><br><span>must be strictly aimed at entities that violate the rules related to the</span><br><span>protection of logs, personal data and private communications.</span><br><span></span><br><span>2) Any action taken against illicit activities on the network must be</span><br><span>aimed at those directly responsible for such activities and not at the</span><br><span>means of access and transport, always upholding the fundamental</span><br><span>principles of freedom, privacy and the respect for human rights</span><br><span>(Resolution <a href="http://cgi.br/Res/2009/03/P">CGI.br/Res/2009/03/P</a>);</span><br><span></span><br><span>3) Item VI under Article 3 of Marco Civil restricts the liability of</span><br><span>Internet stakeholders to the specific extent of the activities they</span><br><span>perform; and</span><br><span></span><br><span>4) Article 18 of the same Law states that “the Internet connection</span><br><span>provider shall not be subject to civil liability for damages resulting</span><br><span>from content generated by third parties”.</span><br><span></span><br><span>The members of the board of <a href="http://cgi.br">CGI.br</a> believe that Marco Civil does not</span><br><span>provide any legal ground for the unrestricted suspension of Internet</span><br><span>services and other activities and measures that adversely affect a</span><br><span>diffuse and indiscriminate group of Internet users in Brazil and in</span><br><span>neighboring countries that use the infrastructure and services provided</span><br><span>by Brazilian companies.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Therefore, <a href="http://cgi.br">CGI.br</a> takes note of the efforts entailed by</span><br><span>telecommunications and network providers in the country to cope with the</span><br><span>court order, in full compliance with Brazilian Law, in spite of not</span><br><span>being parties to the respective action; and commends the Honorable</span><br><span>Justice Dr. Xavier de Souza, of the Court of Appeals of the State of São</span><br><span>Paulo, who issued a writ of mandamus to revoke the lower court's</span><br><span>decision, normalizing the operation of Whatsapp in Brazil. His action</span><br><span>realigned the jurisdictional process to the general principle of</span><br><span>non-liability of the network comprised in <a href="http://cgi.br">CGI.br</a>'s Decalogue of</span><br><span>Principles for the governance and use of the Internet, which provided</span><br><span>the normative basis for the principles, guarantees, rights and duties</span><br><span>enshrined in the Federal Law 12.965/2014.</span><br><span></span><br><span>-- </span><br><span></span><br><span>Carlos A. Afonso</span><br><span>Instituto Nupef - <a href="https://nupef.org.br">https://nupef.org.br</a></span><br><span><a href="http://cgi.br">CGI.br</a> - <a href="http://cgi.br">http://cgi.br</a></span><br><span></span><br><span>GPG 0x9EE8F8E3</span><br><span></span><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>____________________________________________________________</span><br><br><br></div></blockquote></body></html>