Brazil’s Rousseff targets internet companies after NSA spying

Brazil’s Rousseff targets internet companies after NSA spying: Angered by reports that the U.S. government spied on her and other Brazilians, President Dilma Rousseff is pushing new legislation that would seek to force Google, Facebook and other internet companies to store locally gathered data inside Brazil.

The requirement would be difficult to execute, technology experts say, given high costs and the global nature of the Internet. Still, Rousseff’s initiative is one of the most tangible signs of a backlash following revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency monitored emails, phone calls and other communications abroad.

The legislation, which is being written by a lawmaker in Rousseff’s left-wing Workers’ Party and is scheduled to be completed next week, would force foreign-based internet companies to maintain data centers inside Brazil that would then be governed by Brazilian privacy laws, officials said.

Internet companies operating in Brazil are currently free to put data centers wherever they like. Facebook Inc, for example, stores its global data in the United States and a new complex in Sweden.

Rousseff believes that the change would help shield Brazilians from further U.S. prying into their activities, and she is considering urging other countries to take similar measures when she speaks at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, a senior Brazilian official told Reuters.

“This would be a turning point for these companies,” the official said, naming Facebook, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp as examples, although they would not be the only companies affected. “If you want to work here, you will have to obey our rules.”