São Paulo: Meta has told Brazil’s electoral court that it has complied with an order requiring equal treatment for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro on its platforms ahead of the October 25 presidential runoff.
The case is the latest example of courts intervening to address alleged imbalances on digital platforms that could affect politics and elections.
The legal action was triggered by a complaint from Lula’s campaign on October 15. It accused Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, of using biased algorithms and artificial intelligence restrictions to favour Bolsonaro. On Monday, hundreds of people protested outside the company’s office in the metropolis of São Paulo.
On Tuesday, Meta said it had “completed the implementation of measures to comply with the directive from the electoral court”. The company added that the restrictions ordered by the court “do not affect organic posts”.
Bolsonaro secured the highest share of votes in the first round of the election on October 4, winning 47 per cent against Lula’s 45 per cent. Polls and analysts have suggested that the two candidates could remain locked in a tight contest until the final moments of the runoff.
Meta said it had introduced comprehensive measures to comply with electoral advertising regulations and protect the integrity of Brazil’s democratic process. It also said it established a dedicated human review system that requires manual evaluation of any automatic blocks or restrictions affecting presidential campaign advertising accounts within two hours.
The company maintained that recent operational incidents were caused by technical limitations rather than partiality. It again rejected allegations of political bias, manipulation, or deliberate interference in Brazil’s elections.
Tatiana Cochlar, a spokesperson for Brazil’s electoral court, confirmed that the court had received Meta's response. She added that company representatives and the two presidential campaigns were expected to meet with a judge in the capital, Brasília, later Tuesday to discuss the situation.
The case echoes earlier interventions in Europe, where authorities have also acted over the role of social media platforms in political contests.
In Germany, a 2019 court ruling required Facebook to restore a blocked political page to protect political equality. Five years later, Romania annulled its presidential election after hidden TikTok bot networks boosted a pro-Russia candidate. The European country subsequently passed legislation requiring tracking codes on political social media messaging.