The latest in a series of reversals from Brazil’s new government is an attack on open WiFi. The Brazilian telcoms regulator claims that it is empowered to raid the homes of people with open WiFi networks and seize their routers and then issue hefty fines. This is part of a general series of attacks on sharing and openness in Brazil, including attacks on free content and open culture — a heartbreaking turn from a nation that has led the world in respect for the open Internet, shared culture, and freedom for most of the century.
On January 27 , Anatel (Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency), the regulatory agency responsible for regulating, executing and supervising the telecommunications sector, seized equipment and fined an internet user R$ 3,000 (approximately $ 1,810 USD) for sharing his wifi connection with neighbors in the city of Teresina, Piauí state (Northeast of Brazil). [GV note: one of the poorest states in Brazil.]
Brazil: Criminalization of Sharing Internet via Wifi
(Thanks, Gmoke, via Submitterator!)
(Image: Anatel, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from hapoptosis’s photostream)
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