Watch and surveillance: A content analysis of the National Registry of Internet Access in Brazil

Abstract

The legalization and institutionalization of the surveillance of the digital information of the Brazilian citizens has been promoted by interests of Protestant political groups that argue ideas of faith and morality in draft laws that promote new forms of Internet control. Since 2015, different bills have threatened the right to privacy and freedom of expression in digital communications, guaranteed by Act No. 12.965, of April 23, 2014 (Civil Internet Framework). The present research analyzes the critical points of the projects of law of control of Internet promoted by evangelical politicians and justified in moral arguments of protection
of children and adolescents. The present article establishes a theoretical dialogue with the postulates of Manuel Castells in an attempt to demystify the arguments in favor of the control and uses a qualitative investigation by means of a survey and analysis of content of the bills of laws that still are processed in
the National Brazilian Congress. It is evident that the current draft legislation establishes fruitful threats to the guiding principles, guarantees, rights and duties for the use of the Internet in Brazil, camouflaged in moralistic narratives and dissonant and interested arguments of Law No. 12,965, leading to the understanding that there are eminent possibilities of expanding the control and monitoring of the information consumed and produced by Brazilian Internet users.