Lira says that big techs have crossed all limits and prevented the Chamber from legislating – 05/03/2023 – Politics

The mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), said this Wednesday (3) that big techs exceeded all limits of prudence by promoting “inhuman” and “lying” pressure against federal deputies and preventing the PL vote of Fake News.

The deputy also said that he called the Chamber’s lawyers to study the possibility of filing lawsuits against the platforms that put pressure on the bill.

“Big techs have surpassed all limits of prudence. If we can compare, it’s as if they had prevented the functioning of a power. And, in comparative law, we are going to look for all the means to file a lawsuit, blaming for the act almost of horror that they practiced in the lives of deputies in the week of voting on the matter”, he told GloboNews.

The mayor also stated that he received reports from parliamentarians who suffered physical threats through social networks – which will also be investigated by the House.

“Using your instruments to boost, hinder or restrict the other party from moving, and then converging all the means that [as plataformas] hold, with the algorithms that have influence on the states. The pressure was horrible, inhumane and lying — that’s the worst thing,” said Lira.

“If they had dealt with facts, there would have been no problem. But [as plataformas] they sold a completely distorted theme, assuming that the Chamber of Deputies was voting on a project that would censor, muzzle and take away freedom of expression. This is not what we stand for and will never stand for.”

The mayor also complained that the criticisms of the Fake News PL were not made to the text presented by the rapporteur Orlando Silva (PC do B-SP), but resorted to generalities.

“The discussions concern everything, except the text, because it was discussed, negotiated, adjusted […] All the gestures were made, but unfortunately, yesterday the subject was still quite tense and tumultuous and there would be no conditions for us to have a vote regarding what he represents”, he complained.

A day earlier, Lira postponed the vote on the Fake News PL, in an attempt to avoid the main defeat of the political articulation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) since the beginning of the current term.

The postponement was decided amid pressure from the opposition and after a reaction by the government and Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Federal Supreme Court), against the offensive made by big techs to bar the proposal.

Lira said that the ideal thing is for the Legislature to approve the laws to regulate social networks, but confessed that he does not know if the Supreme Court will guide the discussion on the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet before the Chamber — ministers Dias Toffoli and Luiz Fux are rapporteurs of actions that question the constitutionality of parts of the law.

“But it is not easy to be conducted in Parliament for several reasons, both because of the complexity of the subject and because of the polarization that we still experience in a very intense way”, he explained.

On Tuesday (2), Google released a note defending the company’s right to expose its views on the bill.

He said that the proposal needs to be discussed more widely with society as a whole and that, “like several groups and associations that have expressed themselves in favor of postponing the vote, we understand that more time is needed for the text to be improved”.

“We support discussions on measures to combat the phenomenon of disinformation. All Brazilians have the right to be part of this conversation and, therefore, we are committed to communicating our concerns about the project.”

Lira, who met with Lula on Tuesday morning, stated hours later that she only intended to keep the PL voting if there was enough support. At night, after the project’s rapporteur, Deputy Orlando Silva (PC do B-SP), asked, the mayor confirmed the postponement – without setting a new date for consideration in plenary.

On the same day, the president of the Chamber had already signaled that, if there was not enough support, he would postpone the vote. “If you don’t have a vote, my intention is that you don’t vote today,” he said, upon arriving at the Chamber.

Questioned whether the postponement could bury the proposal, Lira denied: “What is buried is defeat. Defeat is buried.”