SECONDARY LIABILITY OF SERVICE PROVIDERS IN BRAZIL: THE EFFECT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS FRAMEWORK

Abstract

In April 2014, the Brazilian National Congress passed Federal Law number 12.965, known as the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet. This law is praiseworthy both for the means by which it was developed and its effect. That is to say, the legislation i) was the result of numerous public hearings in which civil society was called on to participate actively, ii) endorses democratic principles for full access and use of the Internet in the country, and iii) sets clear parameters for the liability of Internet-service providers. Based on this new legislation, this Chapter sets out to portray the panorama of the liability of Internet-service providers in Brazil today, in comparison with the understanding of Brazilian doctrine and jurisprudence on the matter prior to the enactment of the Civil Rights Framework. It concludes that the Brazilian system seems to have taken an important step in building efficient parameters for the liability of providers, including the need for a legal notification as a formal requirement to hold the provider responsible.

1.1 Introduction