Lula’s former Minister of Justice declared that the thesis ‘is as consistent as the foam of the waves that break on the beach’; Corte’s colleague statement was made during an event with businesspeople
During the trial held this Tuesday (18), which culminated in the conviction of nine defendants from the military core of the coup plot, ministers Flávio Dino and Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), reacted to the statements of André Mendonça, who associated the Court with the practice of supposed “judicial activism” in the trial of article 19 of the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet. Mendonça’s speech took place the day before, during an event held by the Lide business group, in São Paulo.
At lunch, Mendonça stated that the Supreme Court “created lawless restrictions” by increasing the liability of digital platforms for third-party content — a decision taken by 8 votes to 3. The minister opened the divergence and defended the maintenance of the current rules, which limit the liability of companies to non-compliance with court orders. According to Mendonça, “this is called judicial activism, which many colleagues defend”. He argued that he voted against because the Constitution “does not authorize” this stance.
Minister Flávio Dino classified the use of the term as an attempt to discredit the court. For him, the expression works like “magic words” to justify unfounded criticism. “This is as consistent as the foam of the waves that break on the beach. What happens here in the Supreme Court is the application of laws”, said Dino, stating that it is natural for there to be criticism, but rejecting the label of activism.
Alexandre de Moraes also refuted the accusation. According to him, the public debate mixes economic and ideological interests when dealing with the topic. “Commercial activism needs to be talked about about judicial activism. So that’s it: raising something that doesn’t exist”, he stated.
The decision contested by Mendonça was defined at the beginning of October. The majority of ministers understood that the model in force since 2014 is insufficient to protect fundamental rights on the internet and that platforms must have a broader duty of care. Rapporteurs Dias Toffoli and Luiz Fux argued that technological advancement requires new responsibilities.
*Report produced with the help of AI
