That seemed to be the message at a march held Monday protesting proposed telecom reforms that many young people in Mexico say will give the government a free hand to conduct selective web censorship and engage in cybernetic spying.
More than 5,000 young people from different universities and civic groups took part in the demonstration held in the Guadalajara city center. The march ended up at the local studios of Televisa, the giant broadcaster that protesters say stands to gain most from the changes to the Ley de Telecomuniciones.
The march, coordinated with protests taking place elsewhere in Mexico, including the capital and Monterrey, was organized through social media as a reaction to secondary legislation proposed in the wake of last year’s congressional approval of a new telecommunications law.
The legislation effectively allows Gobernacion (the Interior Secretariat) to censor television and internet content and suspend transmission of material it feels is not in the nation’s interests
In addition, Internet providers will be allowed to “block access to certain content, applications or services at the specific request of the user.”
Internet providers will also have to maintain a detailed list of consumer preferences and habits and share these with “competent authorities” whenever and for whatever reason requested.
Its critics say the legislation is unclear on the definition of “competent authorities” and will enable the government to take control of the web in times of social unrest.
In theory, the new laws imply that intervention will only be permitted when national or public security is at risk but many people fear they will open the door for those in power to stifle freedom of expression and dissenting voices.
Another criticism of the law is that Internet providers will be able to give preferential bandwidth to different sites, and thus work in the best interest of certain companies, that may include broadcasting monopolies such as Televisa and TV Azteca.
Many participants in this week’s demonstrations were members of #Yosoy132, the social movement that began as opposition to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Peña Nieto and the Mexican media’s allegedly biased coverage of the 2012 general election.