Brazilian President signs executive order on social networks

The new clause defines a set of scenarios in which platforms would have “just cause” to remove content or suspend users and imposes new requirements for platforms to do so

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro signed an executive order on Monday changing the regulations for content moderation on social networks, a move that critics say might stymie the fight against disinformation.

The decree takes effect right now, but it must be ratified by Congress before it becomes law. According to the federal communications secretariat, it intends to counteract “providers’ arbitrary and unlawful deletion of accounts, profiles, and content.

Bolsonaro, who had content taken from his social media accounts for disseminating false information regarding Covid-19, claims that the suspension or removal of accounts and content that various platforms have imposed on him and some of his fans is censorship.

The new clause defines a set of scenarios in which platforms would have “just cause” to remove content or suspend users – such as committing crimes or inciting violence – and imposes new requirements for platforms to do so.

A Facebook representative told AFP: This provisional measure greatly inhibits our capacity to prohibit abuse on our platforms. We concur with legal professionals and experts who believe the measure violates constitutional rights.

Alessandro Molon, a member of the opposition and the rapporteur for Brazil’s Internet Bill of Rights (MCI), said he was contemplating legal action to reverse the presidential decree.

Its goal is not to preserve freedom of expression; the MCI accomplishes that already, Molon explained. What Bolsonaro wants is to keep the falsehoods and hate speech that he and his supporters spread from being deleted from social media platforms.

On the eve of Brazil’s Independence Day, when his supporters are expected to take to the streets in major cities around the country, Bolsonaro announced the proclamation.