Brazil is a generally open country in terms of internet freedom, but judicial decisions are leading to content censorship, according to a report released by Freedom House, Paula Goés reports for Global Voices. Threats of prosecution for libel and defamation cause high numbers of user rights violations in the country.
Goés says lawsuits against bloggers by politicians are a growing threat. She cites a recent example of blogger Juvêncio de Arruda, from the Quinta Emenda blog. Arruda was ordered by a court to delete posts about Pará state congressman Luiz Afonso Sefer, who is under investigation for pedophilia. If Arruda had not complied, he would have had to pay a daily fine of R$1,000 (about US$ 457.89). Goés cites fellow bloggers who claim Arruda had been commenting on public information and reporting on the investigation daily, bringing attention to the case.
The report Freedom on the Net: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media investigated 15 countries to observe emerging tactics adopted by governments to control internet and mobile phone use, including attempts to control, regulate, and censor the content of blogs, websites, and text messages, Goés writes.
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