Opposition acts to prevent the left from rushing fake news debate

The opposition to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) opened two fronts in Congress to curb the government base’s efforts to regulate social networks. Progress on the subject was one of the president’s campaign promises and, in the Chamber of Deputies, the group that supports the petista is articulating to advance quickly with the bill (PL) 2.630/20, popularly called PL das fake newswhich creates rules for content moderation across platforms.

One of the opposition’s strategies is to convince the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), to create a special commission to discuss the merits and improve the proposal. The movement is being led by federal deputy Zé Vitor (PL-MG), president of the Mixed Parliamentary Front for Digital Economy and Citizenship.

Another strategy aims to collect signatures for the urgent requirement of PL 3.227/21, which proposes the reform of the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet and limits the chances of suspension or deletion of accounts on social networks, as well as the blocking or removal of content on media. The plan is led by deputy Mário Frias (PL-SP).

Although dissociated, the two fronts have the objective of blocking Lula’s base from trying once again to vote for the PL of fake news on the plenary of the Chamber.

In April 2022, Lira guided the vote on an application that, if approved, would allow the proposal to be voted directly in plenary, on an urgent basis – that is, without going through committees. By 249 votes in favor of urgency, 207 against and one abstention, the deputies rejected the request. For it to pass, at least 257 votes were needed.

Now, in the new legislature, Lula’s base wants to repeat the movement and propose a vote on a new requirement.

Rapporteur wants to vote PL for fake news in March

Deputy Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), rapporteur for the bill on fake news, met last Thursday (16) with Minister Alexandre de Moraes, president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), to discuss the project. On the grounds that the matter has been under debate for three years, he confirmed his intention to vote on the text in plenary as early as March.

“It’s time to give an answer, and society demands even more after the sad events experienced in Brazil on January 8, so I believe it is urgent that we can give an answer and the debate has taken place”, he said in an interview with the program Jornal da Record.

Regarding the meeting with Moraes, Silva stated that the minister “knows the matter” and “led” resolutions on the subject in the TSE. “Our expectation is that Brazilian law incorporates the best experiences and lessons learned, including those experienced during the election,” he added.

The deputy won the government’s endorsement to discuss the subject after an agreement between the government and Lira that any matter related to fake news and regulation of social networks will be discussed within the project reported by Orlando.

The Planalto Palace is thinking of regulating by means of a provisional measure (MP) the way in which digital platforms must monitor and remove false content from social networks. Lira, however, was against regulation by MP and the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, the political articulator of the Lula government, gave signs that he would retreat from this strategy over the last two weeks.

On February 8, at the opening of the Coalition Political Council meeting at the Planalto Palace, Padilha said that the idea is to “make the most of what is an initiative of Congress”.

However, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino, contradicted Padilha, Lira and Orlando by saying that he is still studying the issue of an MP to combat false news. “We are proposing either the amendment of the project [da Câmara] or the publication of a new project or who knows a Provisional Measure, which advances towards the best international practices, notably in the European Union”, said Dino at an event with BTG bank investors.

What the opposition expects from its strategies against the fake news Bill

Faced with the intention of the government and its base in the Chamber, the opposition intensified its strategies in the last week. The objective is to leave no option for Lira to submit an urgent request to the PL of fake news.

This is where Deputy Mário Frias’ strategy comes from in proposing the urgent processing of PL 3.227/21. Originally, the proposal to reform the Marco Civil da Internet was presented by the management of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) as a provisional measure. The text was rejected by the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) and returned to Planalto. In another decision involving the MP, Minister Rosa Weber, current president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), suspended the validity of the matter.

The Bolsonaro government’s objective with the measure was “to combat the arbitrary and unmotivated removal of accounts, profiles and content by providers”. The MP tried to provide a legislative solution for freedom of expression on social networks in Brazil and, once rejected, its wording was resubmitted in the form of a bill.

Between Wednesday (15th) and Friday (17th), 112 deputies volunteered to sign Frias’ application, which is still collecting signatures. The deputy demonstrates confidence that the strategy will succeed.

“This is the counterpoint we make, of bringing the debate to the surface and a view that we have on the issue of freedom of expression on social networks. In fact, there are left-wing people signing the application, which is very positive, because today we are we are the limited ones, the restricted ones, tomorrow it could be them”, he says.

However, the proposal defended by Frias is politically less palatable in Congress and carries with it the association with former President Bolsonaro. Because it has less appreciation in Congress, members of the opposition understand that the strategy has less chance of succeeding, but could force Lula to look for alternatives to PL 2,630/20. And this is where the adopted strategy of asking for the installation of a commission to discuss the proposal comes in.

“The left knows they don’t have a vote in plenary, I think they themselves are in doubt about what to do with it. If it goes to plenary, it will bury the project. It’s better to set up a special commission and move forward in a [novo] text”, says deputy Evair Vieira de Melo (PP-ES), quoted to assume the leadership of the minority. “The way it is today, forget it”, he says.

Deputy Zé Vitor had an informal conversation with Lira during the re-election campaign and asked for a meeting after Carnival to discuss the installation of a special commission for the PL of fake news. “Arthur has been very positive and willing to talk,” she says.

As president of the Parliamentary Front for Digital Economy and Citizenship, he understands that there are sensitive issues that need to be better debated in a special committee, such as monetization and information distribution.

“The left wants to ‘treat’ the subject, but I don’t think the text is ready and mature enough to vote in plenary. We have to listen to the big techs in an environment for discussion. There are many rookie deputies who did not participate in the debate. We have to put the cards on the table to improve this text. As it is, it is confusing and does not give us confidence to vote, we need a more democratic environment for us to debate”, he highlights.

“It is important to have clear legislation”, defends Lira

Lira himself is in favor of processing the PL of fake news. “We were unable to vote in the pre-election period due to the already known polarization. The only way to have responsible regulation of social networks is via a bill”, he told journalists on February 10, in Vitória (ES).

The president of the Chamber stated that the matter will be discussed in the Chamber together with the Senate to avoid changes when the text returns to the Senate. “We are going to make an effort and involve everyone so that this problem has a minimum regulation, including big techs, so that they behave responsibly in Brazil. It is important to have clear legislation”, he highlighted.

Deputy Evair de Melo (PP-ES) does not completely reject the PL of fake news, but argues that the agenda should be better debated. For him, the rush of Lula’s base to vote the urgency reflects an inconvenience.

“Historically, the left thinks that it has always monopolized traditional communication vehicles and is extremely upset because it has not been able to dominate the production of content on social media, a field that it has not been able to monopolize. It wants to put a short halter on social media and regulate them Taking away social media freedom is the same thing as taking away academic freedom, and we’re not going to allow that,” he adds.

Deputy Bia Kicis (PL-DF) endorses the speech and promises that she will work “very hard and hard” against the government’s objectives and its base, but foresees challenges.

“What they want is to censor the conservatives, this is a globalist movement, so it won’t be easy, but we need to organize and use all the tools that the regiment allows us to try to obstruct [a votação diretamente em plenário]”, he states.

Deputy Carlos Zarattini (PT-SP), in turn, understands that the opposition’s argument – ​​that the agenda needs to be better discussed – is a demonstration that, in fact, they do not want anything to be voted on.

“This argument is because they don’t want to discuss anything, it’s a normal tactic. They’re under a lot of pressure, they’re cornered after the January 8th coup attempt and they’re without a speech and come with a freedom speech”, says the PT deputy.

The parliamentarian also rejects the thesis of the opposition in defense of freedom of expression and defends a regulation of social networks. “And it’s not censorship, we have to have regulation to stop the spread of fake newsracist posts, posts that encourage violence, we don’t want Brazil to be the United States, which shoots at supermarkets”, he defends. Zarattini’s evaluation is that the project can be debated even in plenary, after “negotiations behind the scenes” inside the House.

Deputy Zé Neto (PT-BA) understands that the Bill of fake news it is not a priority, but considers that it is a debate about which one can no longer “vacillate”. “We cannot hesitate about this, the whole world is making this assessment [de regulamentação de notícias falsas nas redes sociais] because it is a very new thing in our lives”, he comments.