After entering the emergency regime for assessment, the Legislative Decree 2630/2020 it was removed from the voting agenda by the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), at the request of the rapporteur, MP Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP). In the early afternoon, the leaders’ meeting had decided to go ahead with the vote on “PL das Fake News”, as the proposal was made known, this Tuesday (2).
The rapporteur said that the withdrawal request would aim to give more time to analyze the suggestions coming from the benches with which he has met in recent days. According to Silva, the main impasse regarding the text still revolves around the law enforcement body. The deputy also said that the proposal to place this responsibility in the hands of Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) has strengthened this week, but is still meeting resistance, including from the government.
In the corridors of the Chamber, however, the perception was that the project risked being rejected in the vote.
Strict approval of the emergency regime of the 25th had been secured thanks to Republican votes. In the last week, under pressure from the conservative electorate – especially evangelical -, the party has shown signs that support on the merits of the project would not be guaranteed.
Throughout the day, government allies scrambled to try to turn other votes in favor of the proposal. Among the banks targeted by the attack were Podemos, União Brasil and PP – the latter having voted overwhelmingly against the emergency regime last week, despite being the acronym for Lira.
In the articulation for approval, the Speaker of the Chamber met Lula, who promised the release of 6.5 billion reais in parliamentary amendments for deputies and another 3.5 billion reais for senators, as reported by the G1. The longer deadline for the vote also allows the government to find ways to deliver on its promise.
The decision to ask for the postponement, in order to guarantee more negotiation time, had to be weighted with the awareness that the additional days will also be used for the platforms to continue to put pressure on the deputies.
During the holidays, Google caught up put the link for an article critical of the project on the front page.
The action of the platforms provoked reactions. The Federal Public Prosecutor of São Paulo asked for explanations to Google and Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. much the Where (Board of Directors for Economic Defense) such as the Senator (Segreteria Nazionale Consumatori), both linked to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, announced measures against what they considered an abuse by big techs in the discussion on the “PL of Fake News”.
But the strongest reaction came from the STF (Supreme Federal Court). Mid-afternoon, Minister Alexandre de Moraes ascertained that the PF (Federal Police) hear from the presidents of Google, Meta, Spotify and Brasil Paralelo because of the campaigns against the project. Moraes also asked for the ads to be removed.
The energetic action by both the Executive and the Judiciary was interpreted as a message by MPs, who fear that the failure to agree on the approval of a regulation in the Legislative could leave the initiative to act in relation to the platforms to other powers , according to sources interviewed for the to the facts in the camera.
Opposition deputies also declare themselves in favor of some regulations, while criticizing the government’s proposal, which they accuse of wanting to censor social networks.
What is up for debate
PL 2630/2020 regulates the performance of digital platforms in Brazil. The measures apply to the social networks, search engines and instant messaging services they have more than 10 million users in the country. The text establishes that these platforms must establish mechanisms of transparency and contrast to the dissemination of non-informative or illegal content, such as those that promote crimes against the democratic rule of law, discrimination and violence.
The project says this “duty of care” of platforms will be supervised, though do not stipulate exactly who should be in charge of the role. The creation of an autonomous monitoring body, envisaged in previous versions of the draft, was withdrawn from the final opinion after pressure from the political sectors.
If platforms are negligent in curbing the spread of illegal content, platforms are subject to administrative actions such as reprimands, fines and even suspension of operations. A security protocol may also be introduced, with an initial duration of 30 days, which allows providers to be held liable for damages caused by third-party content, provided it is proven that they knew about it and did not act. This possibility is limited to the cases covered by the protocol and to the contents published individually during his mandate.
The text also creates a sort of immunity from speech by politicians on social networks. These “public interest accounts,” which include elected politicians, ministers, secretaries and their equivalents, and senior executives of government entities, would instead be prohibited from blocking users.
Finally, the project provides platforms to remunerate media companies for the journalistic content they use. The amount of the remuneration will have to be negotiated directly between the companies, although the rules for the deals have yet to be instituted. To the great technicians it would be forbidden to remove journalistic posts to avoid payment and would not be able to pass the cost on to network users.
Work in Congress
PL 2630 was presented in May 2020 by Senator Alessandro Vieira (PSDB-SE) with the main objective of reducing the spread of misleading content and the proliferation of fake pages and profiles. Voted two months later in the Senate amid a massive spread of disinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic, the rule was approved with 44 votes against 32 and went to the Chamber, where it has been under discussion for three years.
To speed up the drafting of the text, which normally passes through special committees before going to the plenary, the Chamber voted last year to proceed with urgency. An articulation promoted by the Bolsonaro government (PL), however, made the the question fell short of 257 votes required for approval.
With discussions stalled since then, the project has returned to the spotlight following the coup plotters of January 8 and, more recently, the series of threats against schools. OR Planalto came to make suggestions of modification to the project, accepted in part by Orlando Silva in opinion presented last week. The final version also included requests from several political parties.
Among the rapporteur’s concessions, in addition to removing the text of the creation of an autonomous supervisory body, is the inclusion of more explicit reservations indicating that the measures do not affect religious expression – a request from the Evangelical college. Two days before the presentation of the replacement, the House approved the urgent project processingwhich went directly to the plenary.
The various changes made by the text to the House require that, if approved, the bill be sent again for consideration by the Senate. Once this step is completed, we then proceed to presidential approval.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
