Congress Targets Sleeping Giants, Representatives Summoned

In recent weeks, a Senate committee and two others from the Chamber of Deputies approved requests to investigate the suspicious activities of Sleeping Giants Brasil, a group dedicated to left-wing activism known for intimidating internet companies to cancel and demonetize advertisements in communication vehicles that do not share his political-ideological vision.

In the Chamber, the representatives of the group, Leonardo de Carvalho Leal, Humberto Santana Ribeiro Filho and Mayara Stelle, will be heard in the Communication Commission and in the Financial Inspection and Control Commission, still without a set date.

At the Communication Commission, the request was presented by deputy Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO) last Wednesday (23) and approved with a single vote against by PT deputy Jilmar Tatto (PT-SP).

Gayer classified Sleeping Giants Brasil as a “criminal association” whose “sole objective is to prevent and silence any person or independent journalistic group that speaks in defense of the right”.

A member of the same committee, congresswoman Julia Zanatta (PL-SC) asked for “studies to be carried out on the group’s activities and the actions that threaten press freedom in Brazil”, but the request was not voted on due to lack of a quorum.

As for the Financial Inspection Commission, the request to convene the digital militants came from federal deputy Bia Kicis (PL-DF) and was signed by deputies Kim Kataguiri (União Brasil-SP), Tadeu Veneri (PT-PR), Nikolas Ferreira ( PL-MG), André Fernandes (PL-CE) and Jorge Solla (PT-BA). The request was approved by 11 votes to 1 in an extraordinary meeting on the last day 2.

Kicis wants to ask representatives of the digital militia about the group’s legitimacy to act as a supervisory body for the press and about the coercion of advertisers from press organizations, which could characterize a type of censorship.

The deputy also wants to know where the group’s headquarters are located, how many active members are on its staff, who the directors are and if there is any audit on the amounts raised, as well as the use of resources.

Sleeping Giants Brasil is also in the sights of the Senate, which earlier this month, during the first meeting of the Commission on Communication and Digital Law (CCDD), approved a request to analyze the suspicious activities of the group.

The request was signed by the president of the Commission, Eduardo Gomes (PL-TO), and by senators Izalci Lucas (PSDB-DF), Plínio Valério (PSDB-AM), Jorge Seif (PL-SC), Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ ), Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG), Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), Marcos Rogério (PL-RO), Damares Alves (Republicanos-DF), Cleitinho (Republicanos-MG), Luis Carlos Heinze (PP-RS), Hamilton Mourão (Republicanos-RS), Jaime Bagattoli (PL-RO), Marcio Bittar (UNIÃO-AC), Esperidião Amin (PP-SC), Styvenson Valentim ( Podemos -RN), Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) and Rogério Marinho (PL-RN).

Young pan case

In June of this year, the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, contradicted the opinion of the Attorney General of the Republic and filed an investigation by the Civil Police of São Paulo that investigated the Sleeping Giants for allegedly committing the crime of defamation against the broadcaster Jovem Pan.

The ongoing investigation was launched on January 3 at the request of Jovem Pan by delegate André Junji Ikari, from the Cyber ​​Crimes Division. The objective was to discover those responsible for Sleeping Giants Brasil and its financiers, in addition to analyzing possible punishment for an ongoing smear campaign against the broadcaster.

Two months later, in March, the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ-SP) rejected a request for an injunction made by Jovem Pan to suspend the demonetization campaign launched by the SGB and which, until that moment, had already done more than 60 companies canceling their contracts with the broadcaster.

Sleeping Giants Brazil and STF

As reported by People’s Gazette last week, according to the schedule of the Seminar “Combating Disinformation and Defense of Democracy”, promoted by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), the co-founder of Sleeping Giants Brasil, law student Mayara Stelle, is among the speakers at the event , which will be held on the next 14th and 15th of September.

Stelle is listed as a speaker on a panel that will debate the “regulation of digital social platforms and the monetization of disinformation”. The panel will be led by the Minister of the Supreme, Alexandre de Moraes.

Among all the participants in the seminar, Mayara Stelle is the only “law student”, while all the other panelists are jurists and academics with a consolidated career.