Brazil says social media sites must respect domestic laws

Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes said social media firms would need to comply with domestic laws and legislations in order to keep operating in Brazil. one day after media giant Meta announced abandoning its fact checking program.

Brazil’s Supreme Court will not allow technology companies to exploit their use of hate speech for profit, Moraes said, adding that social media “will not become a lawless land” in the country.

“They will only continue to operate if they respect Brazilian law, regardless of the bravado of irresponsible leaders of Big Tech,” the judge said.

Moraes upholds social media checks

Although Moraes did not name any company in his Wednesday remarks, they come a day after Meta announced it would scrap its US fact-checking program, citing political bias concerns.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also slammed in his video statement what he said were acts of censorship in various regions around the world, calling out Latin America, Europe and China.

Moraes is the judge behind last year’s top court decision to temporarily suspend social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, in the country.

The growing rift between Brazilian authorities and Musk was triggered by X’s non-compliance with court orders demanding it take action against the spread of hate speech. Musk had denounced such orders as censorship.

Meta new rules ‘bad for democracy,’ minister says

Brazil’s newly appointed Communication Minister Sidonio Palmeira criticized Meta’s decision, calling it “bad for democracy.”

“[Without fact-checking] you don’t control the spread of hate, misinformation and fake news,” he said, adding that Brazil needs to regulate social media, similarly to Europe.

Zuckerberg had said Meta would begin by scrapping fact checkers in the US. Brazil’s prosecutor’s office gave the company 30 days to clarify whether it intends to implement the changes in Brazil as well.

The prosecutors’ order was related to an ongoing probe of the actions taken by social media platforms to combat misinformation and violence online in Brazil.

ftm/rmt (Reuters, AFP)

Brazil says social media sites must respect domestic laws – DW – 01/09/2025