The reforms approved to the Federal Copyright Law are an attack on human rights and freedom of expression,” said Luis Fernando García, director of the Network for the Defense of Digital Rights.
MEXICO CITY (Milenio) – According to the director of R3D, the most affected sector, will be the shops dedicated to smartphones and computer equipment. The new law prohibits diagnosing, inspecting, or servicing electronic equipment.
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The new law prohibits diagnosing, inspecting, or servicing electronic equipment. “The reforms to the Federal Copyright Law, approved by the Senate on June 29, are an attack on human rights and freedom of expression,” said Luis Fernando García, director of the Network for the Defense of Digital Rights (R3D).
In an interview, he points out that the reforms approved last Monday, imposed by the implementation of the trade agreement between Mexico, the United States, and Canada (T-MEC), contain two aspects that attack freedom. First, Internet censorship is known as “notice and takedown” which forces online service providers to remove any publication or content from a user when a person notifies that their copyright is being violated.
“If a person makes a notice to the Internet that content violates copyright, the company is obligated to download it without a court order, due process, and without a determination that the content is infringing,” he explains.
The second aspect, he adds, is the circumvention of technological protection measures, that is, breaking digital locks that work as a mechanism to prevent users from copying or accessing specific content that can be modified.
“We have the right to use excerpts from a protected work on current events or to exercise freedom of expression on a non-profit basis; however, to generate that excerpt, I need to break a digital lock, for example, take a screenshot,” he added.
This will result in a fine of up to 1.7 million pesos or six years in prison. Garcia explained that the reforms do not include exceptions that would allow people to diagnose, inspect, and maintain electronic devices with digital locks. If there is a failure in the cell phone and an independent technician is brought in, it would be a violation of the law.
He also recalled that Mexico had possibilities to include these exceptions, but Congress refused to listen to civil society. “In the United States, it is legal to break that digital lock, but it is no longer legal in Mexico.
Micro-enterprises dedicated to repairing electronic devices will be displaced by large technology companies, as was the case with Apple when it included a software lock on the 2018 MacBook Pro, according to the director of R3D.
This problem will result in the creation of monopolies in the repair markets, which will increase prices and affect the consumer. “Also, this phenomenon promotes the generation of highly toxic electronic waste from repaired equipment at a much lower cost.
Regarding journalistic information, he added that it could be censored illegitimately as a justification for the publication of fragments of content since pages of information could be downloaded in their entirety: “These mechanisms can be used in a fraudulent way to silence voices and censor materials of public interest that affect political and economic interests.”
