Electoral Court advocates punishing big techs misleading voters
The head of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, Judge Alexandre de Moraes, on Thursday (Feb. 1) called for the punishment of big techs spreading false content misleading voters. He was also in favor of regulating social networks, private messaging services, and artificial intelligence tools.
At the opening of the Electoral Court’s 2024 proceedings, Judge Moraes said that technology companies, which own social media platforms and private messaging services, make profit from spreading disinformation, fraudulent news, and hate speech to certain groups of voters, and should therefore be held accountable for influencing electors’ choices.
“They must be responsible for their economic gains, for the content that their algorithms boost, recommend, and bring to voters,” he argued.
The minister cited other practices that should also be subject to penalties—such as maintaining inauthentic accounts; denying requests for the immediate removal of hate speech, anti-democratic content, and accounts; as well as failing to warn about the use of artificial intelligence in content.
Judge Moraes’s opinion is in line with President Lula’s view on the topic. At the opening ceremony of the judicial year at the Supreme Court, also on Thursday, President Lula called for the punishment of companies that allow crimes to be committed on their platforms.
Regulation
Judge Moraes also called for national rules for the operation of social networks and private messaging services in Brazil.
“There is a need for general regulation by the National Congress in defense of democracy. We can no longer allow the spreading of false discourse, the encouragement of hate speech, and massive disinformation without any responsibility on the part of big techs.”
The Electoral Court should introduce rules on the subject this year, when municipal elections will be held in October. The resolutions are being drafted by the court's second in charge, Judge Cármen Lúcia.
“We can no longer accept that social media are a no man’s land, a lawless land, where there is no responsibility,” he asserted.
He also announced the creation of a group, made up of Electoral Court officials and Federal Police agents, aimed at stepping up monitoring efforts and identifying individuals who disseminate false content and hate speech on social networking sites.
