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Brazilian Activists Fight Back Against Mass Surveillance

Categories: Latin America, Brazil, Digital Activism, Freedom of Speech, Governance, International Relations, Protest, Technology

As the world comes together to take a stand against mass surveillance on February 11, 2014, Brazilian citizens, organizations and collectives are bringing momentum to #TheDayWeFightBack [1] campaign.

Anti-surveillance collective Antivigilancia.tk [2] (@antivigilancia [3] on Twitter), one of the 15 Brazilian signatories of the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance [4], has a website with complete information in Portuguese on how to participate in #TheDayWeFightBack, as well as several resources [5] for the day of action, such as banners and memes.

Cartoon by Latuff with D'Incao (2013). Shared by WebWe Want on Flickr (BY SA 2.0) [6]

Cartoon by Latuff with D'Incao (2013). Shared by WebWe Want on Flickr (BY SA 2.0)

Well-known Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff took on the challenge launched by Web We Want [7] early in February to create original visual works on digital surveillance and the right to privacy. 

Cartoon by Latuff with Operamundi (2013). Shared by WebWe Want on Flickr (BY SA 2.0) [8]

Cartoon by Latuff with Operamundi (2013). Shared by WebWe Want on Flickr (BY SA 2.0)

On Twitter, many Brazilians are linking [9] the day of action with the country's pioneer bill of rights for Internet users [10], the “Marco Civil da Internet” (Civil Framework for the Internet), which will be brought to the floor in a plenary session [11] [pt] in the House of Representatives today. A group of civil society organizations is expected to meet the Minister of Justice [12] [pt] to voice “serious concerns” regarding the latest modifications to the bill, especially with respect to “the right to the inviolability and secrecy of the flow and content of private communications, the right to privacy and freedom of expression.”

Cartoon by Latuff with Operamundi (2013). Shared by WebWe Want on Flickr (BY SA 2.0) [13]

Cartoon by Latuff with Operamundi (2013). Shared by WebWe Want on Flickr (BY SA 2.0)

 All submissions to the Web We Want contest are available on Flickr [14].