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Brazilian Court Gives Meta 24 Hours to Prove Equal Treatment of Presidential Campaigns
Magistrate Bellizze warns daily fine could double to about US$185,000 if Meta fails to comply.
On Monday, the Brazilian Superior Electoral Tribunal gave the technology company Meta a 24-hour deadline to demonstrate that the campaigns of the two presidential candidates, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro, are receiving equal treatment on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
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Magistrate Marco Aurelio Bellizze warned that if Meta does not demonstrate that it has complied with the equity measures previously ordered, the court will double the planned daily fine to about US$185,000 until the end of the runoff that will take place on Oct. 25.
His decision comes after both campaigns went to court to denounce that their political content is being harmed by Meta’s platforms and to accuse the company of favoring its rival.
This discriminatory treatment has been particularly notable against the campaign of President Lula da Silva, according to denunciations by militants of the Workers’ Party.
More generally, Brazilians have confirmed that Meta-controlled social networks have imposed limitations on the advertising boost of the leftist candidacy and have selectively restricted the dissemination of posts linked to Lula and his supporters.
Esto es un escándalo por el que tendría que responder Zuckerberg
— Julián Macías Tovar (@JulianMaciasT) October 14, 2026
La periodista Daniela Lima muestra en directo como la IA de Meta favorece la campaña de Bolsonaro creando imágenes de "Flavio 22", y con las mismas instrucciones se niega a hacerlas de "Lula 13". pic.twitter.com/SGb5NjStcR
The text reads, “This is a scandal for which Zuckerberg would have to answer. Journalist Daniela Lima shows live how Meta’s AI favors Bolsonaro’s campaign by creating images of ‘Flavio 22,’ and with the same instructions refuses to make images of ‘Lula 13’.”
Last week, Judge Bellizze determined that Meta offer equal treatment to both candidates in a decision that was endorsed on Friday by the entire electoral tribunal.
In Monday’s decision, the magistrate stated that there are still not enough elements to conclude that Meta deliberately manipulated the distribution of content, but he considered that the multinational has not satisfactorily demonstrated compliance with all previous orders.
Bellizze also questioned that Meta has assumed the authority to modify the deadlines set by the Court, since it requested more time to comply.
Among the court’s demands on Meta are explanations about recommendation systems, the review of ads from both candidacies, the identification of those responsible for political advertising and the measures adopted against possible networks of inauthentic profiles.
The new decision comes after Meta last week denied any interference in the Brazilian elections and rejected accusations of favoring a candidate. The company attributed the problems denounced by the Lula campaign to technical incidents and assured that its systems do not classify or distribute content based on political ideology.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
