The draft legislation includes new clauses which would require all organisations operating in the country to keep online data about citizens in a physical form within the state. These clauses were drafted after the Edward Snowden affair in which it emerged that President Dilma Rousseff and her team had been the subject of online monitoring by the US. Lawyer Ronaldo Lemos told The Financial Times: 'Brazil is going to be the first country to do something like this and there is a lot of fear it could lead to some sort of ‘Balkanisation’ of the web.' And Google commented: 'The proposed amendment requiring internet companies to store Brazilian user data in Brazil risks denying Brazilian users access to great services that are provided by US and other international companies….Cut off from the most innovative and efficient cloud services and the strongest computing power around the world, Brazil risks being unable to develop its tech sector and being uncompetitive in the global economy.' Source: The Financial Times