AGU says that Meta’s current terms of use are not in line with Brazilian legislation

BRASÍLIA/SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – The Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU) stated this Tuesday that the current terms of use of social networks managed by Meta “are not adequate to Brazilian legislation and are not sufficient to protect fundamental rights of citizenship”, following changes recently adopted by the company.

The assessment was made after AGU received from Meta a response to a request for a statement made by the government body to the company after the company’s executive president, Mark Zuckerberg, announced changes to the content moderation policy and the end of the fact-checking program in the company’s networks in the United States.

“Some aspects contained in the Target document cause serious concern in the AGU and federal government bodies. Especially the confirmation of the change and adoption, in Brazil, of the Hateful Conduct Policy which, in all evidence, could represent fertile ground for violating legislation and constitutional precepts that protect fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens”, said the AGU.

“The information provided by Meta also contradicts statements made by the company in recent statements made during the discussion on the Marco Civil da Internet, within the scope of cases being judged at the Federal Supreme Court (STF). In such demonstrations, company representatives assured that the then content governance policies were sufficient to protect the fundamental rights of users”, he added.

The AGU also said that, in view of this assessment, it will hold, together with the Ministries of Justice and Human Rights, in addition to the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic, a public hearing on Wednesday to discuss the changes made by the Goal and “the measures to be adopted with the aim of ensuring compliance with national legislation and the protection of rights”.

In response to the AGU’s request for explanations, Meta reiterated that, “for the moment”, the end of fact-checking will only happen in the USA and that the measure will be tested there before eventually being adopted in other countries.

Meta also said it was committed to freedom of expression, which it called a “fundamental human right that allows the exercise of many other rights”, but said it recognized that “abusive forms of exercising this right can cause harm, especially for vulnerable groups”.

The company said that, while well-intentioned, its content management efforts on its social networks have been stretched “to the point where we have at times over-enforced our rules, limited legitimate political debate, and often impeded free expression.” that we intend to make possible.”

“The recently announced changes aim to address this issue, as part of our ongoing commitment to improve and seek the ideal balance between freedom of expression and security,” the company said, stating that it will continue to “prioritize the security and privacy” of users and “to take seriously our role in eliminating abuse of our services”, without giving details.

Regarding the changes to the Hateful Conduct Policy, Meta stated that the objective of the changes is “to guarantee greater space for freedom of expression”.