Target fined for treating unequally rivals in the Brazilian elections

A justice of Brazil imposed a fine on Meta for not guaranteeing equal treatment, on its platforms, between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro during the presidential campaign.

Lula da Silva surprised him by defeating Bolsonaro in the second round, on October 25, at the end of a campaign in which he accused the American technological giant of interference to favor the right-wing rival, supported by the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court (TSE) unanimously imposed a fine of 7.5 million reais (about 1.2 million euros) on the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

However, the justice did not consider the existence of a “deliberate action to distort the election”, according to the words of the rapporteur judge Marco Aurélio Bellizze, contrary to what had denounced the re-elected president’s team.

Lula’s campaign accused the Goal of “algorithmic manipulation” in order to harm the candidate.

The technology behaved as a “political agent”, harming Lula through “serious irregularities,” lawyer Angelo Ferraro said before TSE.

Meta denied having taken sides, claiming “technical problems” that will not have affected only Brazil.

Meta’s lawyer Patricia Marta Martins stated before the TSE that the allegations of interference were “false and unfounded” and that the legal requirements were “fully met” by the company.

During the presidential campaign, the TSE determined that the Meta should take measures to ensure equality in the dissemination of content for the benefit of both candidates.

The seven TSE judges followed Bellizze’s vote that the company did not respect the deadlines and lacked transparency by providing the TSE with incomplete, generic or even written information in another language.

On October 25, in the victory speech, Lula da Silva said that the country won the interference of digital platforms that tried to “direct the election result” and defended its regulation.

“ Win the intrusion from the outside inside, like digital platforms ", said.

“ We had to overcome the intrusion from the outside through digital platforms, which we will have to regulate,” Lula said, adding that “it is not possible that we are not aware that crime in the digital world has to be treated as crime in real life.”.

The Brazilian President also accused the technology of making high profits without paying taxes in Brazil and trying to influence the outcome of the presidential.

Lula da Silva was re-elected in the second round of the Brazilian presidential elections, with 51.79% of the votes, for the fourth term as head of state, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro, and made history as the first candidate to win after losing in the first round.