When the underlying relation does not regard consumer law (see below), the applicable law regarding civil intermediary liability is the Civil Code. This legislation institutes the core principles and provisions of tort law in Brazil. Article 186 provides for a classic Aquilian liability, and states that “he who, by voluntary action or omission, negligence or recklessness, violates rights and harm others, even if exclusively moral damages occur, commits an unlawful act.” Article 187 expands liability and provides legal basis for strict liability, stating that “also commits an unlawful act the holder of a right in which exercise clearly exceeds the limits imposed by their economic or social order, the good faith or morals.” Atricle 927, finally, institutes that “he who, by an unlawful act (arts. 186 e 187), causes damage...
Articles 3, 14, 17 and 43, §2 The Consumer Protection and Defense Code, which application should prevail over the Civil Code by virtue of the principle of lex specialis, defines supplier, on its Section 3, as “any individual or legal entity, either public or private, Brazilian or foreign, as well as depersonalized beings, that develop activities of production, assembly, creation, construction, transformation, importation, exportation, distribution or marketing of products or service provision.” By means of its activities, service providers are considered suppliers by virtue of Brazilian law, thus being regulated by that Code. Article 18 of the Code states that all suppliers involved in the chain of supply are jointly liable to compensate consumers for flaws in products and damages thereof. Hence, ISPs involved in the...
The crime described in Article 241-A specifies as crime the activity of legal guardians of Internet Service Providers regarding pornography involving children or adolescents, but conditions liability to failure of takedown upon notice: “Article 241-A. Offer, exchange, provide, transmit, distribute, publish or disclose by any means, including by computer or telematic system, photography, video, or other record containing explicit sex scenes or pornography involving a child or adolescent. Penalty - imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and a fine. §1 The same penalties apply to those who: I - ensures the means or services for storing pictures, scenes or images referred to in this article; II - secures, by any means, the access by means of a network of computers to photographs, scenes or images of the caput of this...
Article138, 139, 140, 154-A and 359 The Article 184 of the Criminal Code regards violation of copyright, which constitutes as crime making available to the public copyrighted work, by electronic means, without proper authorization. This provision was revised in 2003. “Article 184 . Violate copyright and its related rights. Penalty - imprisonment of three (3) months to one (1) year or a fine. §1 If the violation consists in total or partial reproduction, in order to profit directly or indirectly, by any means or process, of intellectual work, performance or phonogram, without express permission from the author, performer, producer, as appropriate, or whom he represents. Penalty - imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years and a fine. §2 The same penalty of §1 applies to whom, for the purpose of direct or indirect profit...