The Brazilian Congressional Bill No. 2630, officially Brazilian Law on Freedom, Responsibility and Transparency on the Internet and dubbed by the Brazilian media the Fake News Bill ( pt, PL das Fake News) and Censorship Bill ( pt, PL da Censura) by its opponents, is a pending bill being considered by the

National Congress of Brazil The National Congress of Brazil ( pt, Congresso Nacional do Brasil) is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state legislative assemblies and municipal chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senat ...

which is intended to fight the spread of

disinformation Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate. The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...

, including fake news, in social networks and messaging apps. Among the measures proposed in the bill are the mandatory identification of accounts in social networks and instant messaging apps, the creation of mechanisms for content checking, the accountability of digital platforms and users for damage caused by spreading fake news. The bill caused controversy and debates among specialists, politicians and civil society, with opinions divided as to its effectiveness and possible impacts on

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

and privacy of users in the internet.

History

The bill was published on 30 June 2020 by socialist Senator Alessandro Vieira (Cidadania-SE) and other parliamentarians, with the intention of creating measures for creating accountability for the spreading of fake news in social networks and digital platforms. The bill aims to achieve this by creating a Council for Transparency and Accountability in the Internet, the objective of which is to inspect the digital platforms and guarantee transparency and accountability of their content. It also establishes the mandatory identification of users in platforms and messaging apps, also the prohibition of creation of fake accounts. In addition, the bill requires digital platforms to check the veracity of information that can cause damage to health, public security and economic order, and to delete or immediately suspend profiles that violate the rules of conduct. The bill caused controversy since its introduction, specially about its effectiveness in fighting the spreading of fake news and its possible impact on freedom of speech and digital privacy. The bill passed in the

Federal Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. Senate or the Senate may also refer to: * Any one of the national senates in the world, including ** The Brazilian Senate ** The United States Sen ...

on 30 June 2020 and it's pending in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, with voting scheduled for 2 May 2023.

Corporate response

In early May 2023, when the bill was about to be approved, Google and Telegram used their own platforms to express their opposition to the bill to their Brazilian users, and soon after were forced to back down by government institutions. On May 1, 2023, Google placed an ad against the bill on its home search page in Brazil calling on its users to ask congressional representatives to oppose the legislation. Government and judiciary accused the company of undue interference in the congressional debate, saying it could amount to abuse of economic power and ordering the company to change the ad within two hours of notification or face fines of per non-compliance hour. The company then promptly removed the ad. On May 9, Telegram told its users that the bill would end

in the country. The

Supreme Federal Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for consti ...

ruled that Telegram must issue a retraction message to the same users, otherwise it would face a 3-day block and an hourly fine of . The company complied with the ruling. On May 11, the

president of the Chamber of Deputies President of the Chamber of Deputies may refer to: * List of presidents of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies * List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia * President of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) * President of the Chamber of Dep ...

requested that the directors of Google and Telegram in the country be investigated for their actions against the bill, describing these actions as forceful and abusive of the companies' hegemonic positions in the market, motivated by economic interests, and cited possible crimes against democratic institutions.

References

{{Portal bar, Brazil, Politics Brazilian legislation Regulation in Brazil