Meta fined in Brazil over influence in presidential election

Brazilian justice on Tuesday imposed a fine of 7.5 million reais (1.2 million euros) on the tech giant. In question, his non-respect of equal treatment between President Lula, re-elected on October 25 creating a surprise, and his rival, Flavio Bolsonaro. A few days before the second round, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) ordered Meta to take measures to guarantee equality in the distribution of content for the benefit of both candidates.

The information provided, some written in another language, was considered incomplete and “generic”, according to the TSE, without however considering as proven the existence of a “deliberate action aimed at distorting the vote”, indicated the judge-rapporteur Marco Aurélio Bellizze. » READ ALSO - Brazil: the Central Bank suspends its rate cuts after Lula's re-election "Interference" on the part of Meta During the campaign, President Lula denounced "interference" on the part of the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp aimed at favoring his right-wing opponent, supported by Donald Trump. “False and unfounded” allegations, for Meta’s lawyer, Patricia Marta Martins, citing “technical problems” which would not have affected only Brazil.

“Meta complies with Brazilian electoral legislation and applies the same rules to all candidates and parties,” the company responded in a press release on Wednesday. During the 2022 presidential election, massive disinformation campaigns had already been carried out on WhatsApp, Telegram and TikTok. In May 2026, a strict legal framework was adopted, making technology companies responsible for the content distributed by their users.

After his electoral victory, the left-wing leader promised to further strengthen the regulation of social networks in Brazil.

Machine-translated from French