Brazil court orders Meta to treat Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro equally
Brazil's top election court has ordered Meta to treat President Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro the same way on its apps before their Oct. 25 runoff, AP and G1 reported. The full court backed the order, with a fine of 500,000 reais a day, G1 reported. Meta denied any bias and blamed tech glitches, AP reported.
Brazil's Superior Electoral Court has ordered Meta to give equal treatment on its platforms to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro ahead of their Oct. 25 presidential runoff, The Associated Press and G1 reported. The full court unanimously upheld an order by Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze that runs through the end of the runoff and carries a daily fine of 500,000 reais, G1 reported.
Under the order, Meta may not reduce distribution, remove recommendations or restrict search for political content from either campaign, and Meta AI must apply the same standard to both candidates, G1 reported. Bellizze wrote that deliberate manipulation had not been proven but that the matter needed deeper review, according to G1. Lula's campaign brought the case, saying Meta was using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favor Bolsonaro, AP reported.
Folha de S.Paulo reported Friday, citing internal Meta messages it obtained, that company employees acknowledged restrictions that hurt Lula's Instagram accounts. In one message, an employee said Lula's account was "limited" compared with Flávio Bolsonaro's, Folha reported. On Oct. 9, Lula's official profile could not pay to boost posts in its Instagram feed for almost 24 hours, Folha reported. Employees also discussed recommendations of Flávio Bolsonaro's Instagram profile and WhatsApp channel, which electoral rules bar, according to Folha. None of the messages Folha saw admit to interference, and they mostly discuss how serious the problems were and how slowly engineers fixed them, Folha reported.
Meta denied the accusations Friday, saying the problems came from unrelated global technical glitches, strict anti-fraud measures and regulatory compliance, AP reported. "Meta applies the same rules to all candidates, parties, and political viewpoints in Brazil," the company said, according to AP. Meta said a loophole briefly blocked some users from making AI images of Lula while still allowing images of Flávio Bolsonaro for another day, AP reported. Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign said no problems had affected the candidate's profiles and channels, Folha reported.
What we know: Brazil's electoral court has ordered Meta to treat both runoff campaigns equally, and Meta denies any political bias.
What we don't: How Meta will answer the court's requests for information, or whether the court will order a wider review of the platform.
Where outlets agree AP and G1 both report that Brazil's electoral court ordered Meta to treat the Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro campaigns equally before the Oct. 25 runoff.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.