After the Mexican government sought to pass laws which would allow it to block Internet and other telecommunications in situations where it deemed that doing so would be appropriate, it appears as if it has backpedaled on the issue. This comes after public protests denouncing the proposals were staged by hundreds of people, TorrentFreak reports.
“Any other additional power, like the blocking of signals for national or public safety will be excluded from the reform,” said Senator Emilio Gamboa, who is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. The Institutional Revolutionary Party currently controls the Mexican Senate.
Those who were against the proposed legislation were concerned that the Mexican government would abuse those powers, though the government stated that it would only employ such blocking strategies in order to thwart unlawful Internet activities, which includes the proliferation of child pornography.
However, privacy activists claim that the law’s finer details would give the government the ability to censor the Internet in Mexico virtually at will. Some of the legal language that came into question include a provision that would permit Mexican authorities to “temporarily block, inhibit or annul telecommunications signals at events and places deemed critical for the public safety.”
Gamboa also said that proposals aimed at expanding the government’s powers which would’ve given it greater freedom to force ISPs to give information to authorities would also not be pursued.
[Image courtesy of Chepe Nicoli/Shutterstock]
