Brazil's Electoral Court Orders Meta to Prove Candidate Equality

The Superior Electoral Court of Brazil has ordered Meta to provide proof within 24 hours that it is treating presidential candidates Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro equally across its platforms. The ruling comes after the campaign of incumbent President Lula alleged that Meta suppressed his Instagram profile, limited his search visibility, and disproportionately removed posts from his supporters while boosting content for Bolsonaro.

To ensure compliance before the October 25 runoff election, the court doubled the daily fine for noncompliance from 500,000 to one million Brazilian reals, approximately $200,000. The court stated that the previous penalty was insufficient given the proximity to the vote. This legal action follows a first-round vote on October 4, in which Bolsonaro led with 47 percent compared to Lula's 45 percent.

Meta has denied favoring either candidate, although the company admitted that technical errors caused some of Lula's advertisements to go offline temporarily. However, the nonprofit digital rights group CTRL+Z and internal messages reported by Folha de S Paulo suggest inconsistent treatment of the candidates, with CTRL+Z calling for greater transparency in how Meta moderates the Brazilian electoral debate.