PL 2630: Telegram distorts Fake News PL and sees censorship – 5/9/2023 – Power

The Telegram application sent a message to its users this Tuesday (9) against PL 2630, which became known as the Fake News PL and is pending in the Chamber of Deputies. The company claims that “Brazil is about to pass a law that will end freedom of expression”.

According to Telegram, the bill would give the government “censorship powers without prior judicial oversight”. The company encourages users to get in touch with deputies.

The text of the bill does not give the government or other administrative body the power to determine what specific content must be removed from the networks.

Despite not delegating this type of power, it brings obligations to the platforms related to this, such as combating the dissemination of posts that constitute crimes against the democratic State, against children and adolescents, racism, among others.

In the text sent to users, Telegram states that “democracy is under attack in Brazil” and says that the Chamber should vote on the project soon, criticizing the alteration of the text, which had new articles included.

“See how this bill will kill the modern internet if it is approved with the current wording. If it is approved, companies like Telegram may have to stop providing services in Brazil”, says the note.

“This bill allows the government to limit what can be said online by forcing apps to proactively remove facts or opinions that it deems “unacceptable” [1] and suspend any internet service – without a court order. [2]”, says the company.

The task of moderating content and accounts would remain with the companies themselves. Today, unless there is a court decision determining the removal, this is done only based on the rules established by the networks, which are often global.

The project creates obligations for platforms to start combating illegal content, according to a list of crimes defined in Brazilian law.

If they do not comply with the obligations set out in the project, companies would be subject to sanctions, ranging from fines to blockades —which would be taken by an administrative body.

In April, the bill, which has been pending in the House since 2020, gained urgent status and would be voted on in the last week.

The vote was postponed on the concrete possibility that he would be rejected. In addition to the disembarkation of parliamentarians from parties that had initially voted in favor of the urgency, the offensive of big techs against the proposal also weighed.

Google led the charge. Those who opened the search site last Monday (1st) were faced with a link below the search box, with the words: “The bill of fake news can make your internet worse”.

In reaction to Google’s offensive, the Lula government (PT) called Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) and the National Consumer Secretariat against Google.

Minister Alexandre de Moraes summoned company presidents to testify at the PF and included Google’s offensive against PL 2630 in the fake news inquiry.