Brazil has had enough of the NSA’s spying games, and has declared that it will do whatever it takes to isolate itself from the United States and its all-powerful internet spies.

According to a report from The Washington Post, President Dilma Rousseff was outraged when she learned that the NSA intercepted her communications, hacked into the state-owned Petrobras oil company’s network, and spied on millions of Brazilians who use services like Facebook and Google.  Due to this, Rousseff postponed a scheduled Washington trip next month where she was to be honored with a state dinner.

Brazil’s anger is understandable, as is its wish to keep the NSA’s spies at an arm’s length, but the concern is that by doing so it could well embolden more repressive governments to do the same – thereby gaining greater technical control over the Internet to crush free expression at home.

U.S. digital security expert Bruce Schneier stated that countries like Russia, China, Iran and Syria are all likely to seek more control over the Internet if Brazil continues with its approach.

How Brazil Intends To Purge The US From The Web

Rouseff is bullish about the prospect of Internet emancipation, though any undertaking would prove to be both costly, but in some areas quite impossible.  What the Brazilian government wants is not to prohibit Brazilians from using services like Google and Facebook, but for said services to build their servers within Brazil’s borders so data will be stored locally and become subject to local privacy laws.

Rouseff also wants to build more internet exchange points in order to route Brazilian traffic around potential spyware, launch a state-run email service through its national postal service to act as an alternative to Gmail, Yahoo Mail and others, and lay a new underwater cable to Europe so that Brazil can connect with that part of the world directly.

The Brazilian President is also demanding a detailed report into the extent of the US’ cyberespionage on her country.

If Brazil succeeds in its US Internet purging goals, we could see some complications in the telecommunications industry.  As General Michael Hayden, the former director of both the CIA and the NSA, stated, “That’s where the transatlantic cables come ashore.”

If you look at the map of the network of submarine cables responsible for transmitting voices and Internet data around the world, Brazil is one of the most important telecommunication hubs on earth.

This is also the reason why the US has been spying on Brazil, it’s like the post office of the world, almost everything passes through it.

But will these efforts keep the spies away from Brazil’s shores?  It remains doubtful, since they would pique the interest of others.  When you build a wall around your house so high, people will be curious as to what you’re hiding behind those wall, people will do anything just to get a glimpse, and that’s what Brazil should expect if and when it manages to cut itself off from the United States.