This study aims to map the controversy surrounding the Marco Civil da Internet (Civil Framework for the Internet) in Brazil. Drawing on a Twitter dataset spanning from August 2012 to December 2013, this study uses a series of methods,... more
This study aims to map the controversy surrounding the Marco Civil da Internet (Civil Framework for the Internet) in Brazil. Drawing on a Twitter dataset spanning from August 2012 to December 2013, this study uses a series of methods, including data mining, processing, and information visualization, to produce a historiography of collective actions related to the Marco Civil. The Twitter conversations traced in this paper began on October 27, 2009 when Brazil’s Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the National Education and Research Network (RNP), launched a national campaign to discuss the Marco Civil. With broad participation from civil society, the first draft of the bill was developed on “Digital Culture Brasil,” an open platform developed by the Ministry of Culture for public debate and conversation on federal policy issues concerning the internet. The #MarcoCivil platform on the “Digital Culture” website catalyzed a series of robust discussions online, using the Twitter profile @MarcoCivil (run by the administrators of the Digital Culture platform) and the #MarcoCivil hashtag.
