In a moment of profound political crisis in Brazil, something unthinkable just happened. The Chamber of Deputies has just released the final report of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI, in Portuguese) of Cybercrime. The report proposes the creation of eight bills to control the Internet. These proposals are bombastic: they directly attack fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression, the right to privacy and important aspects of the Brazilian Marco Civil da Internet (Civil Rights Framework for the Internet), precisely those that protect against Internet surveillance and censorship.

For this reason, we, along with members of various academic entities, legal experts and civil society organizations signed this letter to tell the National Congress of Brazil that we do not accept these measures.

Among the proposals that are set out in the final report of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry of Cybercrime there is:

a) Turning social networks into censorship bodies to protect the honor of politicians. If anyone speak ill of a politician on a social network, the social network will be required to remove the content within 48 hours. If it is not removed, the company will be co-responsible for that content and will have to compensate the offended politician. In other words, social networks will become permanent agents of surveillance and censorship of its users.

b) Sending those who simply violate the “terms of use” of a site to jail for two years. If you enter a website or application and disregard any provision of the huge "terms of use" document that everyone clicks through without having read, you could be jailed for two years.

c) Diverting 10% of the Fistel funds, which aim to improve the quality of telecommunications in Brazil, to finance the police. Already expensive and low quality telecommunications in Brazil will be even worse. The funds that are collected to monitor the quality of Internet access, telecommunications and other services will be diverted to fund the police. Of course, funding the police is important, but we've already paid our taxes for that. There is no need to divert essential resources for this.

d) Assigning responsibility to investigate any crime committed using a computer or mobile phone to the federal police. If a young teenager downloads music from the Internet, they may receive a visit from a federal police agent. Someone who writes something that is considered “defamatory” or “libelous” against a politician on a social network may have to give an explanation to the federal police. The several million Brazilians who do these activities every day could be monitored and even arrested by federal police on suspicion of having committed “crimes by computer use,” even if they are low offense crimes.

e) Requiring Internet providers to automatically reveal who is behind each IP address on the network and informing the police the name, affiliation and home address of the person without the need for a judicial order. In other words, everyone on Brazil's Internet will be presumed “guilty," and they can be constantly monitored. If you criticize a politician online, federal police may be able to learn your identity and be called to act against you.

f) Establishing outright censorship on the Internet. These bills could amend the Marco Civil (which prohibits censorship) by creating a new article that will “determine blocking connection providers access to Internet applications for users” to “curb services that are considered illegal.” In other words, any site could be blocked in Brazil. Remember when WhatsApp was blocked in Brazil? That wasn't even close to what could happen. Any application, website or service could be blocked and censored directly by Internet providers, and Brazilians won't be allowed to access it without any defense, affecting the lives of millions of people.

The CPI report proposing these changes opens with the signature of the Deputy Eduardo Cunha, the current president of the House of Representatives. The CPI was chaired by Mrs Mariana Carvalho (PSDB-RO) and the text prepared by Mr Espiridião Amim (PP-SC) and Representatives Sandro Alex (PSD-PR), Rafael Motta (PSB-RN), Daniel Coelho (PSDB- PE) and Rodrigo Martins (PSB-PI).

What's most incredible on the CPI report of cybercrimes is how the Internet is depicted as a “damnable den,” instead of a source of jobs, innovation, development, and an essential tool for the future of Brazil.

If passed, these bills will criminalize the Internet and place the network under the strict control of the state. This is the same path taken by countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, North Korea and Russia.

At a time when freedom of expression and the Internet are essential, it is unfortunate that Brazilians may have their Internet threatened byin the name of cybercrime. Of course, crimes committed on the Internet need to be fought, but this should be done while respecting fundamental rights.

What we are witnessing now is not an attempt to combat cybercrime, but rather an attempt to control the Internet -- a tool that has troubled corrupt politicians in Brazil.

If you don't want Brazil's Internet to be censored, share this information and speak up against the CPI of Cybercrime and the eight bills it proposes to control the internet. Censorship never more.