Berliner Tageblatt - UN experts urge Meta to safeguard political expression in Brazil election

Both candidates in the increasingly rancorous contest have called for the disqualification of their rival over the issue, ahead of Sunday's run-off.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's campaign said they would request the disqualification of right-wing rival Flavio Bolsonaro over alleged election interference by tech giant Meta.

On Tuesday, Bolsonaro's team struck back with its own court filing accusing leftist Lula of "abuse of power" in the mass dissemination of government postings on Meta's WhatsApp.

US tech giant Meta says it has complied with a Brazilian court order to treat both election campaigns equally and has denied taking any actions to favour one side.

"Meta must protect political expression and guarantee effective remedy" during Brazil's elections, the UN rights experts said in a statement, saying reports of restrictions on legitimate political expression on Meta platforms were raising concerns.

"Monitoring reports show thousands of accounts and posts have faced suspensions, reduced visibility and sharing limits, including journalists, human rights defenders, civil society actors and content creators," they said.

"Information, including from Meta employees, suggests that accounts linked to one side of the presidential race were disproportionately curtailed," the experts said, without specifying which candidate.

"Losing reach can mean losing a voice in public debate and the ability to mobilise communities," they argued.

"Where political expression appears disproportionately restricted, platforms must explain why, address unequal impacts and ensure effective remedies."

- 'Unaccountable gatekeepers' -

The experts urged Meta to assess whether its moderation, recommendation and artificial intelligence systems disproportionately restricted one side in Brazil's electoral debate.

"Digital platforms must not become unaccountable gatekeepers of political debate, nor should their systems be susceptible to undue influence by political actors," they said.

"Democracy and free and fair elections depend on independent and consistent platforms and an open, pluralistic environment," the experts said.

Lula's campaign alleged that Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, was suppressing his online content to boost Bolsonaro.

The UN experts included the special rapporteurs on the right to freedom of opinion; on the independence of judges; on freedom of peaceful assembly; and on human rights defenders.

UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.

L.Dubois--BTB