Zanin releases free access to electoral justice websites during elections
Operators must make the service available 72 hours before the election
Minister Cristiano Zanin of Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) on Monday authorized people with depleted data franchise to have free access to Justiça Eleitoral websites during the two rounds of elections.
With the decision, free access must be freed by the operators 72 hours before the shifts and 24 hours after the vote.
The minister determined that the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) should guarantee access to the official domains of Justiça Eleitoral, including the sites of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and the regional electoral courts so that voters can access information about the place of voting, electoral justification, among other services.
The release also applies to data traffic in official applications, such as e-Title.
The minister partially answered a request for total release of the data franchise to internet users during the election period. Last week, the National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE) and Partido Verde (PV) filed a lawsuit against STF to ensure mobile internet access for all Brazilians, regardless of the data franchise limit, in the 72 hours leading up to the elections.
The entities claimed that the limitation of data allowance prevents access to information during the proceedings.
In deciding the issue, Zanin understood that access through reduced speed should prevail over the total blocking of access to the internet.
“The impossibility of consulting official sources and using electoral services on election days does not come back to life after the vote,” the minister said.
Anatel warned that unrestricted release of mobile internet access during elections could lead to traffic spikes that could disrupt connectivity on mobile devices, especially in the vicinity of electoral zones.
On Monday, a group of 12 civil society entities called on STF to join as amici curiae in the process that asks for guarantee of mobile internet access in the elections. They refute Anatel’s argument, claiming that the agency did not inform what the real impact of universalizing access would be.
Read also: How to download the e-Title to vote
