Brazil: Tech Giants Slam Country's 'Fake News' Bill

By BERT HOOVER May 02 2023, 23:47 PM EDT

The Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva administration and large tech corporations like Google are at odds over a regulatory law being considered by Brazil's Congress that would place more responsibility on internet companies to report illegal information on their sites, according to Al Jazeera.

Due to pressure from Brazilian authorities, Google took down a link on its Brazilian homepage on Tuesday that opposed Bill 2630, or the Brazil Fake News Law.

Users were urged to contact their congressional representatives to voice their opposition to the measure after the link claimed it would cause widespread confusion.

Compared to other laws governing social media and other content-hosting websites, the Brazilian proposal, which would impose sanctions for internet companies that fail to act on fake news and additional illicit information on their sites, would be among the strictest.

It is like the Digital Services Act of the European Union, passed last year to control tech giants and set content moderation and transparency standards.

Google and Facebook, among others, have voiced concerns that the Brazil fake news bill, Bill 2630, could be used for censorship, risking access to free content services.

Brazil Justice Minister Calls Google's Link Disguised and Misleading Advertising

Reuters said that Brazil Justice Minister Flavio Dino demanded that Google remove the link Tuesday, giving the tech giant two hours to comply or pay fines of one million reais ($198,000) per hour.

"What is this? An editorial? "The minister stated during a press conference that Google's connection was disguised and misleading advertising for the firm's stance against the Brazil fake news bill and that Google is neither a media nor an advertising company.

Although Google denied changing search results to favor material contrary to the bill, the American company swiftly removed the link and defended its right to express its concerns via "marketing campaigns" on its platforms.

"We support discussions on measures to combat the phenomenon of misinformation. All Brazilians have the right to be part of this conversation. As such, we are committed to communicating our concerns about Bill 2630 publicly and transparently," it said in a statement.

The Brazil fake news bill set to fine media outlets that fail to report instances of fake news was scheduled to be voted on in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Still, conservative and Evangelical representatives are opposing it.

Speaker Arthur Lira delayed the vote to allow lawmakers more time for debate.

Heads of Tech Giants Ordered to Give Statements to Police

Meta, Google, Spotify, and Brasil Paralelo (a far-right news and entertainment platform) were all ordered by Brazil Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to have their respective CEOs give statements to the police about their involvement in what could be considered the dissemination of false information about the bill and the unlawful use of economic power, AP reports.

De Moraes referred to research conducted by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro's (UFRJ) Laboratory of Internet and Social Media Studies that claimed the tech giants had marketed and run advertising in opposition to the measure "in an opaque way and bypassed their terms of use."

Google denied manipulating search results to favor its perspective and said it was dedicated to conveying its concerns about the bill "in a public and transparent way."

While the Senate passed the original version of this bill in 2020 under Lula's predecessor, the far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, the current version is much broader.

If the House passes the legislation, it will be sent back to the Senate for a final vote.

Meanwhile, a Brazil judge ordered the temporary suspension of Telegram last week after the messaging application failed to provide details about profiles that shared Nazi propaganda.

A subsequent ruling reversed the ban a few days later, but the daily fine of 1 million reais for noncompliance remained in effect. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov issued a statement saying the business would appeal the ruling since it is "technologically impossible" to comply.

This is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

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