Meta tells Brazil court it is treating presidential campaigns equally

Meta told Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court that it had implemented measures to ensure equal treatment of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro’s campaigns across its platforms. The filing followed a justice’s 24-hour order asking the company to show that campaign content would be distributed without discrimination before Sunday’s runoff.

Lula’s campaign had questioned Meta’s actions and alleged that the platform favoured Bolsonaro’s candidacy, an allegation Meta denied. In a nine-page filing reviewed by Reuters, the company listed 17 initiatives and attached a technical declaration describing equal, non-discriminatory treatment.

Human review through the runoff

Meta said ad accounts for both campaigns would receive prior human review. Automated restrictions would be reviewed within two hours, with that process remaining in place until the election. The filing is a description of safeguards and commitments to the court, not a judicial finding that the campaigns were treated equally in the past. It illustrates the operational pressure on platforms during a close election, when moderation systems must balance speed, consistency and the legal demands of electoral authorities.

Image: REUTERS/Jean Carniel.

Sources

Reuters