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Brazil's top court takes on regulation of social media


Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday started examining four cases that turn on how far social media should be regulated, and what responsibilities platforms have in cracking down on illegal content.One key point it is looking at is whether social media platforms can be fined for illegal content posted by users.

That issue has taken on heat in recent days in Brazil, with federal police accusing far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro and allied officials of using social media disinformation as part of a 2022 "coup" plot against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, then the country's president-elect. Global social media networks, however, already have to abide by laws in the EU against illegal online content, under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), which could guide them in terms of Brazilian compliance. The court's presiding judge, Luis Roberto Barroso, told AFP that "digital platforms... open paths to disinformation, hate, deliberate lies and conspiracy theories."

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