The president () sent a message this Thursday (9) to , CEO of Meta (which owns WhatsApp, Instagram and ), saying that a citizen cannot think that he is in a position to harm the sovereignty of a nation.
The speech took place when the PT member was asked about the decision to leave in the USA. Zuckerberg says he will work with the president-elect “to resist governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing for more censorship.”
Lula spoke to journalists at Palácio do Planalto. “I’m going to hold a meeting today to discuss the Meta issue. I think it’s extremely serious that people want digital communication not to have the same responsibility as the guy who commits a crime in the written press”, he said.
“As if a citizen could be punished because he does something in real life and could not be punished because he does the same thing digitally. What we actually want is for each country to have its sovereignty protected. One citizen, two citizens, cannot three citizens think they can harm the sovereignty of a nation”, he added.
On Tuesday (7), Zuckerberg announced changes in the company with the end of the fact-checking model and, without mentioning specific countries, attacked the judiciaries in Latin America, which he called secret. “Latin American countries have secret courts that can order companies to remove content silently,” he declared at the time.
The change in the Target also occurs at a time of change in the government’s own communication. Lula decided to replace Paulo Pimenta at Secom with marketer Sidônio Palmeira. The inauguration should take place next week, but the transition has already begun.
Sidônio said, on Wednesday, that Meta’s decision “is also a problem for democracy, which we are discussing here.”
Digital communication is one of the focuses of change under Secom’s new management. The future minister said that improvement is needed, but without giving details. “There is also an observation in the digital part, which people say, some even say that it is analog. I think we need to evolve in this. It is a start, but there needs to be an evolution.”
Earlier, the vice president, (), defended the need to hold big techs accountable and that regulating platforms is fundamental. The statement was given during an interview with Rádio Eldorado.
“It is not possible for you to have a platform with a global presence, without responsibility, without accountability. You cannot misinform people, you cannot slander, lie, defame, you need to have responsibility. Living in society has rights and duties”, he stated .
This Wednesday (8), the minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) stated that the court will not allow them to be used for hate speech and spoke of “bravado” from platform leaders, one day after a statement by Meta’s CEO with indirect criticism of the court.
The judge also said that these companies will also not be able to act in collaboration with extremist groups. “In Brazil, they will only continue to operate if they respect Brazilian legislation. Regardless of the bravado of big tech managers,” he said.
Ahead of the Brazilian Judiciary’s clashes with big techs, Moraes gave the answer in a conversation held at the Supreme Court as part of the agenda in memory of the .
“For the rest of the world we cannot speak, but for Brazil, I have absolute certainty and conviction that the Federal Supreme Court will not allow social networks to continue to be exploited, intentionally or negligently, or even just for profit, to expand speeches of hate, Nazism, fascism, misogyny, homophobia and anti-democratic speeches”, he stated.
Understand political dimensions in the Meta announcement
End of fact checking
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced this Tuesday (7) the end of its fact-checking program; Now, it will be the users who will include corrections and observations to posts that may contain false information, similar to what happens on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).
Partnership with Trump and criticism of ‘secret decisions’
The decision was announced by the company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, stating that “Latin American countries have secret courts that can order companies to remove content silently” and asking the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, to help combat these decisions
Reference to the STF
Zuckerberg’s statement citing courts in Latin America was read as a reference to the STF (Supreme Federal Court), where an article from the Marco Civil da Internet that deals with the responsibility of companies that control networks for third-party content is being judged.
Conflict with Brazilian Supreme Court
The company is in conflict with the Supreme Court involving the Marco Civil trial; a note was released in which the company criticized the proposals made in the trial, regarding the responsibility of companies, and argued that a “balanced solution” and “clear guidelines” should be reached.
‘Bigger collaborator’
Meta was called “one of the biggest collaborators” in Brazil by minister Alexandre de Moraes; the speech took place while the magistrate was involved in a conflict with Musk over non-compliance with decisions at X
Less global regulation
The decision to end fact-checking and Zuckerberg’s speech indicate that the company will act more vehemently against platform regulation initiatives globally
New reality in the USA
Anchoring the defense of these new developments in the supposed defense of freedom of expression, Zuckerberg used different arguments and terms aligned with far-right leaders; the speech is seen as a gesture towards Trump, who even attributed the elimination of the check to his threats; the movement towards Republican alignment occurs in other American companies
