Lula defends regulation of social networks in global forum – 02/22/2023 – World

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) defended the regulation of social networks to prevent democracy from being threatened by online platforms in a letter sent by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

“We cannot allow the integrity of our democracies to be affected by the decisions of a few actors who control digital platforms”, says the letter addressed to general director Audrey Azoulay and read by Secom’s secretary of Digital Policies, João Brant, this Wednesday ( 22) during the global conference “Internet for Trust” in Paris.

The text signed by the PT advocates legislation “that corrects the distortions of a business model that generates profits from the exploitation of users’ personal data.”

The Unesco conference has been debating global guidelines for Internet regulation. Lula’s letter was read amid the discussion in the Brazilian government for the adoption of legislation that obliges social networks to remove content that violates the Law of the Democratic State of Law, which faces several obstacles.

After opposition by the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), the government withdrew from the intention of drawing up a provisional measure that imposed on platforms the “duty of care” to prevent the dissemination of content that violates the law —that is, that call for the abolition of the rule of law, encourage violence to overthrow the government, or incite animosity between the Armed Forces and the Powers.

Now, the idea is to incorporate the measures in PL (bill) 2630, known as the fake news PL, but there are doubts about its feasibility. Reported by Deputy Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), the project has been in progress for three years in Congress. It was approved in the Senate, but stalled in the House on controversial points.

One of them is the forecast to extend parliamentary immunity to internet platforms. The point is a priority for Lira, but faces resistance from government and civil society sectors, where it is seen as freedom for politicians to misinform with impunity.

Another barrier is the fact that the PL does not provide for the accountability of internet platforms that do not act against content that violates the law. Today, according to the Marco Civil da Internet, these platforms can only be held responsible if they do not remove content after a court order. The government advocates a relaxation of the Marco Civil so that there is accountability for companies that do not act diligently.

For a wing of the government, if the PL does not incorporate the responsibility for illegal content that was foreseen in the proposed MP, it will be an innocuous regulation, as it will maintain the immunity of platforms.

But part of civil society and Congress believes that accountability would lead companies to self-censor and end up removing legitimate content to avoid sanctions.

The government is also opposed to the forecast of self-regulation, using as an argument the delay of platforms to act on content that violated its own rules of use during the election campaign. There is also no consensus on the format and the need to create a regulatory body that would determine whether platforms have fulfilled their duty of care and, if not, should be fined.

Another sensitive point is the PL measure that establishes funding for journalism and negotiation between press vehicles and internet platforms for payment of content. Communication companies such as Rede Globo are staunch supporters of the measure, while platforms are strongly opposed.

The guidelines under discussion at Unesco emphasize the need to “deal with content that is illegal and poses a threat to democracy and human rights”, contrary to the current version of the PL, while “guaranteeing freedom of expression and access to information”.

The rules under debate establish that platforms should systematically analyze content that represents a threat to democracy and adopt labels indicating potential problems, in addition to not performing algorithmic amplification or monetization of such content.

At the same time, UNESCO’s guidelines are against imposing an obligation to monitor content on digital platforms that leads to proactive measures in relation to illegal posts and content – ​​a position defended by the Ministry of Justice.

“Digital platforms should not be held responsible if they act in good faith and with diligence, conduct investigations and other measures to detect, identify and remove illegal content”, says an excerpt from the draft guidelines, which is being prepared at the conference in Paris and should have its final version published in the middle of this year.

The MJ’s proposal, which would be incorporated into the bill of fake news, provides for accountability and proactive removal of content by platforms. However, it states that companies would not be held liable for certain postings in violation. They would only be fined if there was widespread non-compliance with the “duty of care”.

In the letter to Unesco, Lula states that the disinformation campaign that culminated in the attacks against the headquarters of the three Powers on January 8 was “fed, organized and disseminated through various digital platforms and messaging applications”. “This needs to stop.”