Brazil’s electoral court orders Meta to prove equal treatment of Lula and Bolsonaro

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) ordered Meta to show within 24 hours that its feeds do not favour either candidate in the presidential run-off: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva or Flavio Bolsonaro.

The court doubled the daily fine, from 500,000 to 1 million Brazilian reals (about $100,000 to $200,000), for failing to follow an earlier order on political content. A judge said the previous penalty was insufficient with the vote only days away.

The order followed a complaint from Lula’s campaign. It alleged that his Instagram profile was not being fully promoted or appearing in searches, while posts from his supporters were being removed disproportionately compared with content supporting his rival.

Meta denies favouring either candidate. The company has acknowledged that some of Lula’s campaign ads were temporarily taken offline because of technical errors.

The run-off was scheduled for Sunday, less than a week after the court’s decision. In the first round on October 4, Lula received 45 percent of the vote and Bolsonaro 47 percent; neither crossed the 50-percent threshold needed to win outright.

Civil society and digital-rights groups have also raised concerns about moderation. CTRL+Z and more than 100 other groups urged Brazilian authorities to enforce rules and called on Meta to explain its moderation criteria, offer human review of complaints and respond promptly.