Pacheco says network regulation is ‘inevitable’: ‘It’s not censorship, it’s rules’

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President of Congress made the statement in the wake of attacks by Elon Musk, owner of the X network, on minister Alexandre de Moraes and on Brazilian court decisions. Pacheco defended the approval of the Network Regulation Bill. The president of Congress and the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), stated this Monday (8) that the regulation of social networks is “inevitable” and “fundamental”. Pacheco made the statement in the wake of the attacks that billionaire Elon Musk, owner of the social network X, made on Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), and on judicial decisions in Brazil. Musk even threatened to disobey Brazilian court orders and reactivate accounts on X (formerly Twitter) blocked by court order for spreading misinformation, hate speech or attacks on democracy. As a result, the minister ordered the investigation of the businessman for obstruction of justice and incitement to crime. Pacheco spoke about the topic after a meeting with government ministers and government leaders in Congress to discuss the voting agenda for the next few days. “I think it’s inevitable [regulação das redes]. We need to have legal discipline in relation to this. Under penalty of discretion on the part of the platforms, which do not feel obliged to have a minimum ethical approach to handling this information and disinformation. At the same time, the participation of the Judiciary having to discuss issues regarding the use of these social networks without there being a law”, stated the senator. Moraes orders that billionaire Elon Musk be investigated in Brazil Pacheco mentioned a project to regulate Social Networks that was already approved in 2020 by the Senate, but stalled in the Chamber last year, after opposing pressure from large technology companies. “The Senate approved, in 2020, a project to regulate digital platforms. I consider this fundamental. It is not censorship, it is not a limitation on freedom of expression. These are rules for the use of these digital platforms, so that there is no capture of minds, of indiscriminate way, which can manipulate disinformation, spread hatred, violence, attacks on institutions”, stated the president of Congress. Now, with Musk’s statements, the attempt to approve the Social Network Regulation PL has gained strength again in the Chamber (understand what the text says below). The rapporteur in the Chamber, deputy Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), has already informed that he will ask the Chamber for the project to be discussed. According to Pacheco, social networks have become a “completely lawless field”, which allows the dissemination of criminal content with the aim of increasing the user base and, consequently, profits. “With more membership, everything comes down to profit, the search for money, in this story. It is an indiscriminate, unethical and criminal pursuit of profit,” he said. Pacheco argued that social networks, due to the impact they have on society, must play a civic role, and this implies responsibility for the content they disseminate. “There is a civic role that must be played by digital platforms of not allowing this environment to be anything but anything goes, so that people join in and, as a result, generate more profit for digital platforms. I hope that the Chamber can evolve towards that we can have a law, a federal law”, declared the senator. Read also: Elon Musk, owner of of the Regulation of Social Networks Some of the main points of the PL under discussion in the Chamber are: Accountability of networks The latest version of the opinion filed by Orlando Silva in the Chamber establishes that platforms may be held civilly liable for criminal content published by users, as long as it is proven that the company ignored risks and gave up moderation mechanisms. Liability will also occur when criminal content is transmitted through paid promotion and advertising instruments. The measures amend the Marco Civil da Internet, which provides that providers can only be held responsible when, after a court order, they do not remove criminal content. Duty of care According to the text, companies must adopt a protocol to analyze risks related to platforms and their algorithms. This assessment should address, for example, the dissemination of content against the Democratic Rule of Law and prejudiced publications. Based on this analysis, companies will have to adopt measures to mitigate risks. The project also creates a so-called “duty of care”, which, if ignored, can lead to the platform being held liable. The mechanism determines that providers need to act “diligently” to prevent or mitigate illicit content published on platforms. Company negligence or identification of risks may lead to the opening of a security protocol. With the start of the procedure, platforms may be held responsible for omissions in user reports against criminal content available on social networks. Content moderation is also foreseen in the project. According to the text, the procedure must follow the “principles of necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination”. It also establishes that decisions regarding publications must be communicated to users, with the basis of the measure and the appeal mechanisms. Judicial decisions The proposal establishes that digital platforms must comply, within 24 hours, with court decisions to take down criminal content. Non-compliance can be punished with a fine of up to R$1 million per hour, which can be tripled if the content was driven by paid resources. The removed publications and the access data of the user responsible for the content must be stored for six months. According to the text, the platform must report to the authorities signs of threats to a person’s life. Punishments In addition to liability in the Judiciary, companies that fail to comply with the measures provided for in the text may, for example, be punished with: warning daily fine of up to R$50 million fine of up to 10% of the company’s revenue in Brazil fine per user fine up to R$50 million per infraction and temporary suspension of activities in Brazil The proposal also provides that all companies that have operations in Brazil must have legal representatives in the country. Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Pacheco and Minister Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations) also defended the approval of another project, aimed specifically at the regulation of artificial intelligence tools. The text, which was filed by the president of the Senate himself, has been debated by a committee, which is expected to present an opinion soon. Approval has been treated as a priority for Pacheco in 2024. “The internet is an extraordinary advent, but it needs to be used for the progress of the nation, and not for spreading stupidity, violating institutions”, stated the senator.

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