Lula obljublja brezplačen javni prevoz ob vikendih in Flávio Bolsonaro govori o "kupu glasov"

Brazil's electoral authority has banned Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, from restricting political content related to the presidential runoff election without justification. The decision was made by Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) on Thursday, according to reports. The ruling came after a complaint from the campaign of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who seeks re-election, alleging that Meta was favoring content from Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right senator and top candidate in the first round with 47% of the vote. Lula’s team accused Meta of selectively reducing the circulation of posts supportive of the current president while allowing the spread of content linked to his opponents. Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, will face Lula in the second-round election scheduled for October 25. According to recent polls, both candidates are nearly tied, with Flávio leading by two percentage points (51% to 49%). The TSE ruling imposes a daily fine of 500,000 Brazilian reais ($93,000) if Meta fails to comply. It requires the tech giant to treat both campaigns equally, including using its artificial intelligence tool, Meta AI, to generate electoral content. Judge Marco Aurélio Bellizze noted there were no proven cases of deliberate manipulation by Meta but emphasized the need to prevent potential imbalances in the electoral race. Meta is prohibited from limiting the distribution of political content, excluding posts from recommendation systems, restricting visibility in searches, or altering metrics without valid reasons. These restrictions remain permissible if they align with previously established policies applied equally to both campaigns, electoral laws, or court orders. Judge Bellizze ordered Meta to ensure its AI tool applies the same criteria to both candidates and to review restrictions on campaign accounts with human oversight. If an automated system blocks content, Meta must review it within two hours and inform the electoral justice of the action and its rationale. Lula’s campaign announced plans to file complaints with international organizations such as the Organization of American States (OEA), the European Union, and the Mercosur Parliament over alleged issues with Meta’s platform that could benefit Flávio Bolsonaro. Among the concerns raised are interruptions in ad services, drops in views of pro-Lula posts, temporary blocks on Instagram promotions, and discrepancies in AI tools and search functions.