MPF, PF and Government investigate Google after publishing article against PL 2630

Several Brazilian organizations will investigate Google after the company viewed an article on its search engine criticizing the 2630/2020 Law. Major actions include calling the company president to testify about the case to the Federal Police (PF).

The decision was announced by Federal Supreme Court (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes this Tuesday (2). Moraes wants Google and other companies like Spotify and Meta to explain why he used his platform to speak out against the so-called “PL das Fake News”.

The minister argues that promoting content contrary to the bill “could in theory amount to an abuse of economic power and possibly characterize an illegal contribution to the misinformation practiced by digital militias.”

The head of Google and other companies, or equivalent, must testify to PF within a period of up to 5 days.

Other actions

The attack on Google began after the company made a text available on its search engine’s home page called “PL of Fake News may increase confusion about what’s right and wrong in Brazil.” In addition to the post, there was a backlink that took the reader to a text critical of the tech giant’s bill.

Last week, Marcelo Lacerda, Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google Brasil, had already signed a series of texts against PL 2630/2020. The company’s assessment is that the new rules “could make the Internet worse, limit innovation, freedom of expression, and reduce the creation of economic opportunities.”

Even though Google has removed text targeting from its search engine, it has become the target of many organizations. One is the Administrative Economic Defense Council (Cade), which has sued Google, as well as Meta, to verify whether competition has been harmed in Brazil.

The National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon), affiliated with the Department of Justice and Public Safety (MJSP), has forced Google to take action to ensure parity in the Fake News PL debate.

The Federal Ministry of the Public (MPF) was another agency that “buys the fight” against big technologies. MPF is asking Google to describe the search criteria with the term “PL 2630”, as it is suspected the site may have privileged pages critical of the new rules.

Despite its nickname, bill 2630/2020, written by Senator Alessandro Vieira (Cidadania/SE), aims to regulate social networks. The topic has been in vogue lately because last week the House of Representatives put the urgency regime on the agenda. For this reason, the issue should go to the general assembly to be voted in the coming days.

[Atualização – 02/05/2023, às 17h]: As a side note, Google explained to: Technology World supports discussions and measures to combat misinformation. However, the company claims that a broader discussion on the subject is needed.

Regarding the backlink to the text in the search engine’s Fake News PL, the company points out that this is a resource that has already been used in many situations “including promoting vaccination during the pandemic and conscious voting in elections.” The dev also denied that it manually changed the results lists to favor articles that violate the PL.

“We believe the bill and its implications need to be discussed more broadly with the public. Along with the various groups and associations that have expressed an opinion on postponing the vote, we understand that more time is needed for the text to become clear. It has been developed and is at the disposal of parliamentarians and public officials to clear any doubts about how our products work. We continue to be” concludes the note.

HE Technology World The STF also contacted Meta and Spotify to find out if the brands have been notified of Alexandre de Moraes’ decision, Minister of the STF. The report will be updated if the companies take positions on the subject.