Dino delivers proposals to Lula to curb new attacks on the Powers

The Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, delivered on the morning of this Thursday (26) to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) four proposals with the alleged objective of curbing acts of aggression against institutions, such as what happened on the 8th, in Brasilia, in the invasion and depredation of the headquarters of the three Powers. It will be up to the president and his closest assistants to analyze the content of the bills before approving them and sending them to vote in Congress.

One of the items in the set of proposals called by the government itself a “democracy package” is a provisional measure on crimes committed on the internet, which obliges social network companies to remove content that may pose threats to the State. The deadline for removing content is up to two hours, the same as determined by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) for the exclusion of news considered false by the body in the 2022 election campaign.

In a press conference held this Thursday, Dino stated that the provisional measure does not provide for regulation of platforms or generic fight against fake news. “It is not about censorship or prohibition of anti-democratic posts, but of posts that specifically correspond to the crimes typified in the Penal Code and the Terrorism Law. What cannot be done on the streets, cannot be done on the networks”. said the minister.

Another proposal sent by Dino is the creation of a national guard to protect Praça dos Três Poderes – the idea was already floated by the Workers’ Party before the February 8 attacks. According to the minister, there would be a territorial delimitation to define precisely the areas of action of the force. The Esplanada dos Ministérios is an area that the Ministry of Justice and Public Security proposes to be used by the National Guard. “The difference between the National Force and the National Guard is that one is temporary and the other permanent. And the National Guard would operate in the Federal District,” declared the minister.

The third proposal delivered to Lula is a draft that provides for increased penalties for certain behaviors and defines new crimes, such as attacking the lives of the presidents of the Republic, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the Chamber of Deputies. The text also foresees, according to Dino, an increase in the penalty for those who finance or organize acts of terrorism or against the democratic rule of law.

Finally, the last proposition provides for streamlining the process of forfeiture of assets of those who participate in crimes against the Democratic State of Law, both individuals and companies.

The texts of the proposals, however, have not yet been disclosed. Even during the elaboration process of the “democracy package”, parliamentarians opposing Lula and the PT already expressed fear, especially regarding the possible widespread censorship on the networks in relation to criticism of the government and the president. There is a fear that, in order to avoid fines, platforms will remove, before court decisions, any content that displeases the party or the Judiciary under the pretext of representing alleged threats.