Brazilian Electoral Court Imposes $1.3M Fine on Facebook for Election Non‑Compliance

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s superior electoral court has fined Meta’s Facebook $1.3 million for failing to fully comply with judicial orders issued during last month’s presidential election runoff. The penalty follows accusations of political bias leveled by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign team.

Justices ruled late Tuesday that Facebook had not adequately met court demands linked to allegations that its platform treated content from Lula and his challenger, Flávio Bolsonaro, differently. The court, however, found no evidence to date that the company sought to sway the election’s result.

“Reaching such a conclusion would require compelling evidence of intent, which must be presented in full proceedings through the appropriate legal channels,” Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze said, adding that his decision was unanimously accepted by his colleagues.

Ahead of the runoff vote, Lula’s campaign filed a lawsuit alleging that the company, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, employed biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favor Bolsonaro.

The accusation resonated with Lula’s supporters, prompting a protest outside Meta’s offices in São Paulo.

Meta responded that a series of recent platform issues resulted from unrelated global technical glitches, stringent anti‑fraud measures, and regulatory compliance, not from targeted suppression. The tech giant also informed the court that it had implemented measures to ensure equal treatment of both campaigns.

However, Justice Bellizze noted that although the company had submitted statements and documents regarding the measures, some court orders were either not followed, only partially fulfilled, or delayed.

The fine of 7.5 million reais (approximately $1.3 million) reflects “the defendant’s overall conduct concerning the court order, taking into account in particular the delays, incomplete information and the difficulty verifying certain data,” according to a statement released by the country’s top electoral court.

The total corresponds to three days of fines at 500,000 reais ($90,000) each from October 17‑19 and six days at 1 million reais ($180,000) each from October 20‑25, the statement added.

In an updated statement issued on Monday, prior to the ruling, Meta reiterated its denial of political bias, stating that it applies “the same rules to every candidate, every party, and every political viewpoint in Brazil, as we do in elections around the world.”

Lula defeated Bolsonaro in the runoff by more than 4.4 million votes, overcoming a first‑round deficit. Analysts attribute the turnaround to a massive mobilization of Lula’s supporters both online and on the streets.

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