The “fake news” law being rushed through Brazil’s Senate will massively harm privacy and freedom of expression online. Among other dangerous provisions, this bill would force traceability of forwarded messages, which will require breaking end-to-end encryption. This legislation will substantially harm online security, while entrenching state surveillance.
Brazil currently enjoys some of the most comprehensive digital protections in the world, via its Internet Bill of Rights and the upcoming data protection law is poised to add even more protections. In order to preserve these rights, the ‘fake news’ law should be immediately withdrawn from consideration and be subject to rigorous congressional review with input from all affected parties.