Brazil Court Bars Meta From Limiting Candidates’ Political Content Reach

Meta Platforms faced renewed scrutiny in Brazil over technical restrictions affecting the Instagram campaign account of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and recommendations of challenger Flavio Bolsonaro’s accounts, days before the Oct. 25 presidential runoff. Meta employees acknowledged in internal messages that the restrictions hindered Lula’s accounts during the election, Folha de S.Paulo reported Friday, citing messages it reviewed. The report said the messages also indicated that the platform recommended the profile and WhatsApp channel of challenger Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

Meta said the technical issues described in the report had already been made public. The company said the discussions concerned the severity of the issues, not political interference. “Any suggestion that Meta favors one side is false,” Meta said in a statement to Reuters. Earlier this week, Lula’s party said it would file a complaint with the Organization of American States, alleging that Meta manipulated social media during the election.

The party said some posts lacked a share button or had reduced reach. On Thursday, a justice at Brazil’s Brazil’s top electoral court has ordered Meta not to unjustifiably restrict the reach of political content associated with either candidate through the end of the runoff campaign. The ruling also prohibits Meta AI, the company’s chatbot, from favoring either candidate. Lula faces Bolsonaro in the runoff after the senator exceeded expectations in the first round.

Meta has a market capitalization of 1.81 trillion, a 52-week high of 779.82 and a 52-week low of 520.26. The large-cap stock has declined 0.39% over the past 12 months.