MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil: STF signs agreement to fight fake news

“We cannot allow a society to develop under the guise of freedom of expression where no one can trust what they see,” Barroso argued

Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF) last week signed an agreement with companies such as YouTube, Google, Microsoft, Kwai, TikTok, and Meta to tackle online disinformation, Agencia Brasil reported. The initiative seeks to promote educational and awareness-raising activities regarding the negative impacts of these practices.

STF Chief Justice Luís Roberto Barroso pointed out that while freedom of expression must be protected, it is essential to combat fake news, hate speech, and attacks on democracy. “We cannot allow a society to develop under the guise of freedom of expression where no one can trust what they see. This is the effort that unites the Federal Supreme Court and digital platforms,” he underlined.

He also argued that progress in combating disinformation was impossible without the cooperation of digital platforms. Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. “This is an administrative partnership, focused on media education. It has no connection to any case before the Supreme Court and carries no jurisdictional implications,” he added.

The agreement with the platforms is part of the Supreme Court's Program to Combat Disinformation launched in 2021 to address illegal practices that undermine public confidence in the Court and distort its decisions.

Earlier this year, business mogul Elon Musk and STF Justice Alexandre De Moraes engaged in a controversy when the former, who owns the social media X, questioned the magistrate's authority to remove from the platform all those Brazilian users posting publications believed to constitute fake news regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. Musk insisted the STF's actions constituted censorship.