Fake News PL: PF sees abusive action by Google and Telegram – 01/31/2024 – Power

The Federal Police concluded that Google and Telegram’s actions against the Fake News PL constituted “abuse of economic power, manipulation of information” and a possible violation of the consumption order.

The information is in a letter sent to the STF (Supreme Federal Court) this Wednesday (31), in an investigation that investigates the actions of big techs against the bill.

The PGR (Attorney General’s Office) had been called last year by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), who accused big techs of “forceful and abusive action” against the proposal being processed in the National Congress . The companies deny irregularities.

Last May, with the topic about to be voted on in the Chamber, Google published a link on its search home page titled: “The fake news bill could increase confusion about what is true or false in Brazil”. Telegram, at the same time, sent messages stating that a law would be passed that would “end freedom of expression”.

In the investigation into this offensive, the PF stated that the evidence showed that technology companies “adopted impactful and questionable strategies contrary to the approval of the project.”

The police based themselves on a study carried out by the Internet and Social Media Studies Laboratory at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), which “exposed the use of artifices by these corporations in a campaign characterized by disinformation and manipulation”.

According to the document, this action aimed to protect the economic interests of companies, which have a relevant position in the market, “leaving advertisers and consumers vulnerable”.

Telegram Brasil would have used its platform to disseminate false and distorted information about the PL in progress and “incited its millions of users to vigorously attack the project, creating an environment conducive to putting pressure on parliamentarians”.

The two companies also encouraged their users, according to the document, to pressure congressmen, providing a direct link to the Chamber’s portal.

“The companies’ intention, taking advantage of their privileged positions, is to instill in consumers the false idea that the bill is harmful to Brazil, an act that may be out of step with the values ​​of the Constitution”, states the letter from the PF, which still questions the violation of “commercial ethics”.

The document, signed by delegate Fábio Fajngold, also says that such actions “appear to constitute crimes against the consumerist order, promoting misleading and abusive advertising”.

The delegate announced that he had concluded the investigation work, sending the case files to the Judiciary for consideration and possible carrying out other steps “that are essential to the filing of the complaint”.

The presentation of any complaint about the case would be the responsibility of the Public Ministry. The Fake News PL ended up not being taken to a vote at that time, and the discussion in Congress has not progressed since then.

Google Brazil’s defense stated in the process that it “never conducted a defamatory campaign in relation to the aforementioned bill” and emphasized that it does not oppose the creation of legislation aimed at regulating the services offered by internet application providers.

“The position of Google Brasil Internet Ltda. reinforces its commitment to complying with court decisions and highlights the absence of any defamatory intention in relation to the aforementioned bill, including highlighting its non-opposition to the implementation of regulatory laws for the services provided “, he said.

Telegram representatives said that, although it has introduced ad-based monetization in some Asian markets, the application does not make a profit in Brazil, does not sell ads to Brazilian advertisers and has never invested in promotion in the country.

Furthermore, they stated that the message about the PL “was merely opinionative in nature, never political”.

The case is reported by Minister Alexandre de Moraes. Among the measures determined by the minister when initiating the investigation, the Federal Police questioned Google representatives in the country.

The executives denied that the platform had acted to interfere with the results of internet searches about the Fake News PL.

They were also questioned by investigators about spending R$2 million on advertisements about the proposal being analyzed in Congress.

The executives, however, denied that the platform had acted to interfere with internet search results regarding the proposal.