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.
The judicial review comes a month after the same court forced Elon Musk’s X platform to obey rulings aimed at battling online disinformation.
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.
The alleged plot involved using online posts to undermine public trust in the electoral system to justify Bolsonaro holding onto the presidency after Lula defeated him at the polls. Bolsonaro says he is innocent.
The Supreme Court’s deliberations in the cases are not expected to be concluded until sometime next year.
One key …