14 DAY TRIAL // Brazilians may want to get the NSA off their backs with a series of new laws, but the truth is only 40.8 percent of households actually have Internet access.
According to a research completed by the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea), there’s a big portion of the country that does not have any connection to the Internet. The main reasons behind this are the high costs of computers as well as the inability to pay for such services, ZDNet reports.
The research called System of Indicators of Social Perception shows that, out of the nearly 60 percent of households that don’t have an Internet connection, 59.6 percent don’t even own a computer. Another 14.1 percent say they cannot afford an Internet data plan, while 8.7 percent claim to have no need for Internet. Another 4.3 percent say they don’t even know how to use the Internet.
Out of the households that don’t own a computer, 34 percent state that they’d be willing to pay between R$300 ($129) and R$800 ($344) for a computer. However, most Brazilian retailers sell the cheapest desktop computers for starting prices of about R$1,000 ($430), making it impossible for them to acquire a device.
Over half of all connected households in Brazil are located in the southeast area of the country, where cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are located.
When it comes to Internet policies, however, Brazil is one of the leading players in an effort to make the entire thing a local affair.
Following the NSA scandal where it was revealed that the American intelligence agency had been spying on Dilma Rousseff, the country’s president, as well as on Petrobras, the local oil company and several other companies and millions of citizens, Brazil reacted vehemently.
In the first instance, Brazil wanted to force global Internet companies to store data on Brazilian users inside the country, which would, in theory, protect citizens from US spying.
The idea was slammed by the international community, which said that it goes against everything that the Internet stands for. The colossal costs for tech companies shouldn’t be overlooked either in these circumstances.
More recently, however, the Brazilian government dropped this particular rule from its newest Internet bill. However, the key provisions regarding net neutrality were kept, despite opposition from companies in Brazil. The new law forbids them from introducing differential pricing plans for those who are more active online or who need higher connection speeds.