PSB asks Anatel not to resolve conflicts between internet companies

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The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) cannot interfere in contracts between internet providers and value-added service providers, nor resolve conflicts arising from these agreements. In doing so, the regulatory agency violates free enterprise and free competition.


On this basis, the PSB filed an allegation of non-compliance with a fundamental precept in the Federal Supreme Court to request the unconstitutionality of paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 64-A of Anatel Resolution 73/1998, as worded by article 8 of Resolution 693/2018 .

The provisions establish that Anatel will B2B Lead resolve any conflicts between telecommunications service providers and value-added service providers. Furthermore, the rules determine that the entity may, at any time, request a copy of the contracts between these companies.

Value-added services are activities that add new uses to a telecommunications service, related to access, storage, presentation, movement or retrieval of information. These are, for example, instant messaging applications, social networks and audio and video streaming platforms.

For lawyer Rafael Carneiro , Anatel's regulations violated the constitutional principles of free enterprise and free competition.

“Anatel cannot, by its own internal act, establish competence to indiscriminately regulate companies that work with internet applications, putting at risk the innovation and free enterprise that characterize this sector around the world. Any measure in this regard depends on debate with society in the appropriate locus, Parliament”, says Carneiro, who, alongside Felipe Correa and Caio Vinicius de Souza , all from Carneiros Advogados, represents the PSB in the case.

In the petition, the party argues that value-added services are an economic activity, not a public one. Therefore, they are not covered by Anatel's regulatory power.

The PSB also maintains that establishing, via resolution, the possibility for the regulatory agency to resolve conflicts between telecommunications service providers and value-added service providers, in addition to having access to their contracts, violates the principles of legality, separation of powers and due legislative process.



Anatel, according to the PSB, does not have the authority to carry out these activities, in accordance with the General Telecommunications Law (Law 9,472/1997) and Decree 2,338/1997. These rules only allow the entity to interfere in public services and resolve conflicts between telecommunications service providers and between these companies and users. Therefore, Anatel's new powers could only be established by law, the party claims.