SAO PAULO – A judge on Brazil’s highest electoral court ruled Thursday that Meta must take immediate steps to ensure equal treatment for the two presidential candidates ahead of the Oct. 25 runoff.
The decision came soon after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is facing Flávio Bolsonaro, filed a complaint accusing Meta — the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp — of using biased algorithms and artificial intelligence restrictions that favored his rival before the election.
Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze said Meta may not limit the distribution of political content, restrict searches or remove posts in ways that create an imbalance between Lula and Bolsonaro. He also ordered the company to apply the same criteria to both campaigns through its artificial intelligence tools.
Under the ruling, Meta faces a fine of 500,000 reais ($98,000) for each day it fails to comply, Bellizze said.
The Lula campaign’s legal filing, reviewed by The Associated Press, alleged that Meta had subjected its campaign material and organic posts to “unjustified reductions in reach.” It also accused the company of failing to follow through on a plan submitted to the electoral court to resolve the problems.
Meta declined to comment on the ruling.
Lula’s campaign claims that accounts and advertisements linked to Flávio Bolsonaro received artificially boosted visibility, with engagement levels rivaling those of global celebrities. The presidential race is close: Bolsonaro’s son won 47% of the vote in the first round on Oct. 4, compared with 45% for the incumbent.
The complaint also pointed to what it described as a major disparity in Meta’s artificial intelligence tools. According to the campaign, users were unable to create images related to the 80-year-old president through WhatsApp’s “Meta AI” feature, while similar requests promoting Flávio Bolsonaro could be completed.
Gean Ferreira and Evelyn Santos, attorneys for the Lula campaign, said in a statement that Meta’s content distribution system selectively disadvantaged the incumbent while benefiting Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“On one hand, content from candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his supporters faces delivery restrictions, without any justification or transparency,” the lawyers said. “On the other hand, profiles acting as political operatives for the opposing side … receive a disproportionate and artificial reach, garnering more views even than global celebrities.”
Lula’s campaign is asking Brazil’s top electoral court to order an immediate end to the restrictions. It also wants Meta to compensate for the lost exposure by doubling the campaign’s reach to remedy the alleged damage.
On Oct. 11, after Lula supporters began reporting problems with Meta’s tools, the technology company told the electoral court that it rejected accusations of favoring Bolsonaro. Meta acknowledged technical glitches affecting accounts outside Brazil, but said it was complying fully with Brazilian electoral rules and remained committed to providing equal access to its platforms for all political parties.
___
