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(AP) - WEB PATHS DIVERGE: Brazil plans to divorce itself from the U.S.-centric Internet because of Washington's widespread online spying. President Dilma Rousseff has ordered a series of measures aimed at greater Brazilian online independence and security, such as storing Brazilians' data locally.
NSA BACKLASH: The move follows revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency intercepted her communications, hacked into the state-owned Petrobras oil company's network and spied on Brazilians who entrusted their personal data to U.S. tech companies such as Facebook and Google.
CONCERNS: Many experts fear Brazil's plans will be a potentially dangerous first step toward fracturing a global network built with minimal interference by governments. It could render inoperable popular software applications and services and endanger the Internet's open, interconnected structure.
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