UN Experts Say Meta "Unjustly Restricted" Lula's Posts in Brazil Election

UN experts pointed out in a statement on the 21st local time that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, "disproportionately restricted" the activities of accounts related to a specific candidate during the Brazilian presidential election.

While Meta did not explicitly mention which candidate's camp was subject to the restrictions, Bloomberg noted that the cases cited by the experts match the grievances raised by President Lula's camp.

Lula's camp has raised issues regarding Meta's bias, pointing to restricted exposure of Instagram posts and differences in reach.

They also raised issues that Meta's generative AI tool, Meta AI, rejected requests to generate images related to President Lula while producing campaign promotional materials favorable to his right-wing rival, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

Regarding this, the UN experts criticized that "when the scope of posts exposed to users is reduced, the opportunity to voice opinions in the public sphere and the power to mobilize supporters can be weakened," adding that "algorithms, AI systems, and content moderation decisions must not become invisible referees."

The UN experts who participated in this statement are special rapporteurs handling the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, the independence of judges and lawyers, the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, and the situation of human rights defenders.

UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council, and their announcements do not represent the official stance of the UN.

This announcement by the UN experts came as Brazil's Superior Electoral Court ordered Meta on the 19th to prove within 24 hours that it is treating President Lula and Senator Bolsonaro equally.

Previously, Lula's camp filed a complaint alleging that Meta is intentionally suppressing the online content exposure of President Lula.

Supporters of President Lula also held a protest on the 19th in front of Meta's office building in Sao Paulo, Brazil, protesting suspicions of election interference.

In addition to Facebook and Instagram, Meta owns WhatsApp, a messaging app used by more than 90 percent of the Brazilian population.

Regarding the protests from President Lula's camp, Meta stated, "While technical errors can occur, this does not mean political bias," and maintained that "content related to both candidates is handled equally without discrimination."

Just four days ahead of the runoff election (the 25th), President Lula and Senator Bolsonaro are locked in a tight race in the polls.

In a runoff poll released on this day by polling firm Quaest, Senator Bolsonaro led President Lula with 45 percent support compared to Lula's 44 percent, within the margin of error (plus or minus 2.0 percentage points).

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.