SAO PAULO — Tech giant Meta said on Tuesday it has complied with an order of Brazil’s electoral court for it to give equal treatment in its platforms to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro ahead of the Oct. 25 runoff for the nation’s top job.
The case is the latest example of courts intervening to fix platform imbalances impacting politics and elections.
The suit was triggered by Lula’s campaign on Oct. 15, when it accused the tech company that owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp of using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favor Bolsonaro. On Monday, hundreds of people protested in front of the company’s office in metropolis Sao Paulo.
Meta said it had “completed the implementation of measures to comply with the directive from the electoral court.” It added the restrictions ordered by the court “do not affect organic posts.”
Bolsonaro won the most votes in the first round of the elections on Oct. 4, with 47% to Lula’s 45%, with polls and analysts suggesting they will be in a tight race for victory until the last minute.
Meta said it has enforced comprehensive measures to enforce compliance with electoral advertisement regulations and safeguard the integrity of the nation’s democratic process. It also said it implemented a dedicated human review system, under which any automatic blocks or limitations placed on presidential campaign ad accounts must undergo manual evaluation within two hours.
Meta insisted its recent operational incidents come from technical limitations rather than any partiality. It once again denied any allegations of political bias, manipulation or intentional interference in Brazil’s elections.
Tatiana Cochlar, a spokesperson for Brazil’s electoral court, confirmed Meta’s response was received and added that later on Tuesday representatives of the company and the two presidential campaigns are expected to meet with a judge in capital Brasilia to discuss the situation.
The case in Brazil mirrors precedents in Europe where the state apparatus also intervened. In Germany, a 2019 court ruling forced Facebook to restore a blocked political page to protect political equality. Five years later, Romania annulled its presidential election after hidden TikTok bot networks boosted a pro-Russia candidate. The European nation later passed legislation mandating tracking codes on political social media messaging.
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