Meta assured the Brazilian government that its content verification will continue outside the United States for now, despite the government’s serious concerns about potential violations of fundamental rights.
Meta has confirmed that it is currently discontinuing its Independent Fact Verification Program in the United States, as stated by the company that owns Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram in response to an official inquiry about its updated fact-checking policy.
The Brazilian government expressed serious concerns about certain parts of the response, particularly regarding Meta’s “Odio Conduct Policy,” which could potentially lead to violations of Brazilian laws and citizens’ fundamental rights.
Authorities believe that the terms of use of Meta platforms, along with the recent changes announced by the company, do not comply with Brazilian law, according to the Attorney General of the Union (AGU).
The administration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva plans to host a public meeting on Thursday to talk about “steps to take to make sure Meta follows the country’s laws.”
“Manipulation freedom”
AGU’s release of the company’s demonstration on Tuesday was a reaction to a government request made outside of legal channels on January 10 regarding the termination of the Meta program for content verification on social media.
Mark Zuckerberg, the creator and CEO of Meta, surprised the communication industry by revealing on January 7 that his company will discontinue its fact-checking initiative in the US, a change in content moderation strategies that reflect the preferences of incoming President Donald Trump.
The decision caused worry in multiple nations, such as Brazil, where officials worked to combat the spread of false information on the internet.
“We are sorry that extremism is twisting this idea to allow manipulation and aggression,” expressed the new Minister of Communication, Sidon Palmeira, as he criticized Zuckerberg’s company at his inauguration.
Meta’s recent actions have been criticized for threatening fundamental rights and national sovereignty, leading to concerns about a digital ‘Wild West’. Palmeira, appointed by Lula to develop a plan to combat disinformation, made this statement.
Against misinformation on social media.
The recent actions on Meta were implemented following a meeting between Lula and his cabinet on Monday to assess the impact in Brazil.
“All businesses in the nation must adhere to Brazilian laws and legal authority,” stated the president of X.
Hours later, he decided to contribute to the campaign to help Corinthians, his favorite team, pay off a one million dollar debt using Pix.
The act was seen as a way of protesting against the recent false information spread on social media claiming that the government intended to impose taxes on this immediate digital payment platform.
In August 2024, Brazil became globally significant in the digital platforms domain as Minister Alexandre de Moraes from the Supreme Court ordered a nationwide 40-day ban on access to the X network due to non-compliance with court orders regarding combating misinformation.
Agence France-Presse collaborates with Facebook’s content verification program across 26 languages, with Facebook compensating around 80 organizations globally for conducting checks on its platform, as well as on Whatsapp and Instagram.