Netizen Report: Mexican Cybercrime Law That Wasn't Ellery Roberts Biddle - Global Voices
go to original November 5, 2015

“GOODBYE #FAYADLAW / THANKS, INTERNET!” (Contenido Libre)

Mexico’s legislature considered – and then quickly shelved – a cybercrime bill that critics labeled “the worst Internet law in history.” The Law for the Prevention and Punishment of Information Crimes was drafted by Senator Omar Fayad of the notoriously power-hungry PRI party in collaboration with Mexico’s Federal Police. Known for short as the Fayad law, it covered most major areas that could be implemented in a law governing the Internet.

The law contained broad language that conflated everyday computer activities with criminal acts. For example, the law made it illegal to “…willfully destroy, disable, damage or perform any act that alters the functioning of a computer system.” While this may have been intended to target individuals actively seeking to harm others’ computer systems, the act of “altering the function of a computer system” could be as simple as running a software update or changing one’s operating system. The law proposed five to 15 years’ jail time for this offense.

Another section of the law would have made violations of a website or app's terms of service punishable with up to one year in jail and a minimum fine of 800-1000 days’ salary. The incredibly broad scope of this section could have implicated anyone from an adult inciting violence or sharing pornography on YouTube to a 12-year-old lying about their age in order to use Facebook.

Most concerning were provisions that defined “computer terrorism” as the dissemination of information on the Internet “with the aim of destabilizing the public peace.” For journalists and human rights advocates, this had the looks of a policy that would criminalize the right to free expression online in Mexico. The law also criminalized various forms of public disclosure of data, measures that critics saw as a direct attempt to criminalize platforms like Mexicoleaks.

After thousands of citizens went online and into the streets to express opposition to the law, Senator Omar Fayad withdrew it from consideration.

See the original at Global Voices

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