Mexico Passes New Online Surveillance Law Peter Micek - Accessnow.org
go to original July 11, 2014

Protest against LeyTelecom, Mexico City. (Flickrkinoluiggi)

Despite vocal and active campaigns by internet users in Mexico and around the world, the Mexican Congress approved a dangerous telecoms bill that increases surveillance and data retention while sanctioning mobile network shutdowns.

Access and our partners advocated against many provisions in the “Ley Telecom,” a massive reform bill which passed the Senate Friday, July 4 - in the midst of the World Cup - and the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday, July 9. While the bill limits the power of telecom monopolies, it also includes harsh surveillance mandates, and will likely be signed into law.

However, the public pressure that delayed the bill’s passage also resulted in several key victories. In April, protests forced President Enrique Peña Nieto to back down and remove a clause allowing authorities to block internet content, services, or apps (article 145).

Wins on Net Neutrality amendments

After the Access community flooded lawmakers with 16,000 emails, last minute changes eliminated a provision allowing ISPs to create paid “fast lanes,” charging more for faster content delivery, which would violate the principles of net neutrality. The bill also passed with an anti-discrimination provision, which bans ISPs from “obstructing, interfering, inspecting, filtering, or discriminating against content, services, or applications.”

The bill now instructs ISPs to maintain the capacity, speed, and quality of service users contract for, without consideration of the content, origin, destination, or application used (Art. 146).

Article 146 also guarantees transparency on traffic management and service speeds; the privacy of internet users; and the security of the web. It mandates Mexico’s telecom regulator to increase investment in internet infrastructure.

Overall, with strong regulations to implement it, the amended section could deliver a big boost to net neutrality in Mexico.

Read the rest at Accessnow.org

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