Brazil Fines Meta's Facebook $1.3 Million Over Election Court Order Delays

OPA WIRE, Nov 11 (OPA) — RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s top electoral court has penalized Meta’s Facebook $1.3 million for failing to fully comply with judicial orders during the recent presidential election runoff campaign. Justices ruled late Tuesday that the company fell short of court demands regarding allegations that its platform treated content from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and challenger Flávio Bolsonaro differently. The court emphasized, however, that there was no evidence to suggest the company intentionally attempted to influence the election's outcome.

"Such a conclusion would require compelling evidence of intent, to be presented in full proceedings through the appropriate legal channels," Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze stated in his decision, which was unanimously accepted by his colleagues. The penalty of 7.5 million reais corresponds to cumulative fines accrued over multiple days between Oct. 17 and Oct. 25, stemming from delayed compliance, incomplete data submissions, and difficulties verifying platform metrics.

Ahead of the runoff vote, Lula’s campaign filed a formal lawsuit alleging that the company utilized biased algorithms and artificial intelligence restrictions to favor Bolsonaro. The accusations triggered public protests outside Meta’s offices in São Paulo. In response, Meta maintained that platform issues stemmed from global technical glitches, strict anti-fraud measures, and regulatory compliance rather than targeted suppression, asserting that it applied uniform rules to all political viewpoints.

Lula ultimately defeated Bolsonaro in the runoff vote by more than 4.4 million votes, reversing a deficit from the initial round. The electoral court's ruling concludes the immediate judicial review regarding platform compliance during the campaign period, while Meta continues to deny any allegations of political partiality in its global electoral operations.