Brief
Brazilian electoral court doubles Meta fine and orders proof of equal treatment for candidates
The Superior Electoral Court raised the daily penalty for Meta and ordered the company to demonstrate non‑bias ahead of the Oct. 25 runoff.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) on Monday doubled the daily fine imposed on Meta and gave the company 24 hours to prove that its platforms do not favor either presidential candidate ahead of the Oct. 25 runoff.
What happened
The court increased the penalty for non‑compliance from 500,000 Brazilian reals (about $100,000) to one million reals (about $200,000) per day. It ordered Meta to submit evidence within 24 hours that its content feeds treat incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right‑wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro equally.
What the reports add
Al Jazeera notes the order follows a complaint from Lula's campaign alleging that Meta limited the visibility of Lula’s Instagram profile, restricted his posts in searches, and removed supporters’ content while allowing Bolsonaro‑related material to remain. Civil‑society groups such as the nonprofit CTRL+Z have echoed these claims, saying Meta suppressed left‑leaning content and boosted Bolsonaro‑related posts. Meta, while denying any political bias, admitted that some of Lula’s campaign ads were temporarily taken offline due to technical errors.
What was said
A TSE judge said the continued non‑compliance “demonstrates that the fine imposed was insufficient.” CTRL+Z wrote on its website, “Brazilian citizens have the right to know why their accounts were banned, why their posts disappeared, why their accounts lost reach, and why they are being prevented from commenting, reposting, and saving content.”
How it came about
The court’s action follows earlier allegations that Meta’s platforms influence Brazil’s election. Earlier this month Lula’s campaign launched a website to document complaints of restricted activity on Meta. Digital‑rights monitors have published findings suggesting Meta may have given Bolsonaro an outsized presence on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, which many Brazilians use for news.
Key facts
- Brazil's Superior Electoral Court doubled Meta's daily fine to one million reals. (aljazeera.com)
- Meta was given 24 hours to prove equal treatment of Lula and Bolsonaro on its platforms. (aljazeera.com)
- Lula's campaign alleges Meta limited his Instagram reach and removed supporters' posts. (aljazeera.com)
- Meta denied political bias but admitted some campaign ads were temporarily offline due to technical errors. (aljazeera.com)
- Civil‑society group CTRL+Z criticized Meta's lack of transparency about account restrictions. (aljazeera.com)
Sources
- [1] aljazeera.com — originally reported as “Brazilian court orders Meta to prove Lula and Bolsonaro get equal treatment”
