Providers' Liability For Content Generated By Third Parties And General Internet Civil Landmark

The Internet Civil Landmark (Bill 2126, of 2011), just approved by the National Congress, regulates the use of the internet in Brazil and extensive discussions are being held on issues that will certainly generate practical consequences to consumers and companies. While the draft Bill was under preparation, a process that had the active participation of all sectors of the Brazilian society, it became clear that one of the most controversial issues was the implementation of a voluntary mechanism that might secure the internet service providers' exemption from liability for contents generated by third parties.

In an attempt to accommodate the interests of all the sectors involved as well as submit a proposal that might be technically feasible and did not violate the Civil Landmark's fundamental principles, the Bill provided that internet connection providers are exempt from any liability for the content published by third parties, whereas internet application providers