Brazil Court Hits Meta With USD1.34M Fine Over Election Bias Probe

(MENAFN) Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court has fined Meta 7.5 million reais ($1.34 million) for submitting incomplete answers to judicial orders over allegations of political bias on its platforms during the election campaign, a Brazilian public news agency reported Wednesday.

The court’s ruling, unanimous and handed down Tuesday, found Meta failed to adequately comply with 17 measures ordered to clarify claims that its platforms treated content from rival presidential campaigns unequally.

The case stems from a complaint by the coalition backing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s reelection. It accused Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, of curbing the reach of pro-Lula content while favoring his defeated rival, Flavio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party.

The coalition also raised alarms over advertisements allegedly financed from abroad, negative political ads produced with artificial intelligence, and the removal of recommendations for posts supporting Lula.

Reporting judge Marco Aurelio Belizze said Meta’s responses lacked transparency. He pointed to material submitted in foreign languages, aggregated data and generic explanations that made the allegations hard to verify.

Meta denied favoritism, calling the claims false and unfounded. The company argued that differences flagged in third-party studies did not account for variations in the campaigns’ digital strategies and repeated video views.

The fine does not close the case. The electoral court will keep examining whether Meta gave any candidate preferential treatment, and no deadline has been set for a final ruling.

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